The South is a Place

The South is a place. East, west, and north are nothing but directions.

— Letter to the editor, Richmond Times Dispatch, 1995

I am reading the delightful book Confederates in the Attic. The quote above opens the second chapter.

When I lived in Colorado I took every opportunity to explore the magnificent hiking trails and striking mountain vistas offered by the Rocky Mountains. When I lived in Albuquerque I breathed deep to absorb the Native American spirit still alive in The Land of Enchantment. And when I lived in Princeton, NJ, I savored Washington’s Crossing and then immersed myself in the local history surrounding the Revolutionary War.

Wine makers and coffee growers talk about concept called terroir. It can be loosely translated as “a sense of place.” It means that the wine and the coffee beans take on flavors from the ground and the climate and the local environment. It seems to me that this is an entirely human phenomena as well. I have been as deeply influenced by the grandeur of the Rockies, as I have by the Native American spirit in New Mexico or the power of the determination wrought by General George Washington those fateful nights in Trenton and Princeton, NJ.

I live in North Carolina now and it is ostensibly The South. The history and the terroir here tell of a place different from anywhere I have ever lived. It is definitely a place and not just a direction. I am doing what I can to take on the flavors of the ground, the climate and the local environment. Stay tuned . . .


Commonplaces of Existence

My life is spent in one long effort to escape the commonplaces of existence.

— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, spoken by Sherlock Holmes in The Red-Headed League

Ditto.


Gadget Distraction

What’s happening here, now, isn’t as important to me as what could be happening anywhere else.

— Renny Gleeson

I watched Renny Gleeson in a brilliant, short Ted video this morning talk about the sneaky, anti-social behaviors we demonstrate with our smartphones. When I am sitting in a meeting, or at an event, and I can’t resist the urge to pull out my iPhone and check my email or peruse my Twitter updates, I am actually telling those around me that what is happening in the here and now is not as important as literally anything that could come across that tiny screen.

I am fond of the old bumper sticker that says, “I would rather be here, now.” It was designed in reaction to those classics statements of bumper expression such as “I would rather be sailing” or “I would rather be fishing.” The truth is that I really would rather be here, now. I prefer to embrace the moment and milk each experience for all that it is worth. And yet the iPhone becomes a seductive siren call to draw my attention away to somewhere else. Go figure.


Walking in the Rain

Some people walk in the rain. Others just get wet.

– Roger Miller


Live Life’s Questions

I want to beg you as much as I can . . . to be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek answers which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything.

Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

Take whatever comes with great trust, and if only it comes out of your own will, out of some need of your innermost being, take it upon yourself and hate nothing.

– Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet 

Seize the Day

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Important Moments in Life

Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.

– Susan B. Anthony

I have never been very big on holidays like birthdays, anniversaries or Christmas. They seem like such artificial constructs to me. Years ago I reached a peaceful truce with my family and friends to not exchange gifts at such times. We have all been enjoying stress-free holidays ever since.

I don’t meant to demean the important moments in life. I just think that the important moments aren’t demarcated by the traditional calendar dates. I will never forget the incredible taste of the macaroni and cheese from The Fat Duck or the thrill of bringing home a new car for the first time. I celebrate every house or apartment that becomes my new home with a quiet greeting and a prayer. I say goodbye to each residence in the same way. Staring at a full moon is an opportunity to celebrate the magic of being alive on this amazing celestial ball.

Celebrate the moments that are important to you and the ones you love. They occur much more often than you may realize. And don’t worry so much about the dates that fall on the calendar.