Loving Where You Live
Exploring the Magic in My Own Back Yard
Wanderlust
Most people share a wanderlusty feeling. Itchy feet- wondering when and where the next trip will be. Planning the next getaway. I have it, pretty bad too. I love exploring other cultures, seeing new places and eating new foods. But I’ve noticed something lately. That wanderlusty feeling is actually hindering me.
Commitment Issues
It’s causing me to not embrace this Wild Life fully. I’m elbows deep but I need to jump right in! There’s a lot that I want to do here. Bigger projects and years-in-the-making stuff. The kind of thing that can’t be put aside for a few weeks or a couple of months to travel abroad.
Really, my hopes and plans depend on my committing 100%. It makes me think about why I want to travel.
Travelling
Being abroad is an adventure every day. New things to see and do around every corner, foods to try and stuff to learn. I’ve come to realize - Exploring my mountain is that kind of exciting. New plants to check out, local history to dive into, and things to learn. Why on earth would I want to leave?
A new question arises - Am I becoming a shut-in?
One difference between travelling and staying home is that here I can create and build things. When travelling, I’m not usually able to do that. After weeks abroad I’ve found myself itching to make something and to feel my roots again. To get fully into a project or a goal. It’s time for me to REALLY sink my teeth in and let go of that wanderlusty feeling.
Okay, maybe not let go, exactly. But, time for a new stronger feeling I’m going to call ‘homelusty’. I’m not becoming a shut-in, and I don’t need to feel that way!
Magic Everywhere
Sometimes we stop seeing the magic at our own back doors. It’s normal, especially in winter. For me the magic is nature-centric. Figuring out what tree I just walked past, or why a chickadee looked a little different. Fun fact; some of the chickadees here are ‘mountain chickadees’ and have a different look, more ‘angry birds’.
When I lived up north I realized that the bush at my bus stop - which I’d stood at every day FOR YEARS was well-known ‘Seabuckthorn’. It has edible berries. At my home in the suburbs near Vancouver, I learned that the tree in the backyard is Sycamore Maple. Now every time I look at it I get a happy tune stuck in my head.
Just yesterday I learned that the seeds from that Sycamore Maple are probably edible!
Travel Economy
Travel is another thing that’s advertised to us. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, but something to be aware of. I’m sure that sometimes my wanderlusty feeling is fuelled by ads. I try to be aware when things are being subliminally jammed into my mind. If ads didn’t work, advertisers wouldn’t spend kajillions of dollars advertising to us. By kajillions I mean somewhere in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year, online alone.
Resident Alien
I recently saw an article that made a funny but fun suggestion. It suggested that people approach the world as though they are an alien. Everything is new and foreign and interesting. That’s what I’m doing. Treating the world as though I’m discovering it for the first time. Embracing the magic around myself, and revelling in the little things. Instead of alienating yourself from your home, be an alien in your own home.
Homelust
I’m reminding myself that I don’t need to travel to be on an adventure. Staying put is exciting. There’s always something to see and do. New things to try and stuff to learn. I love it when I make a discovery that has been under my nose the whole time. I can then take that discovery and apply it to my life. I found a strong type of wild mint last summer - and I can hardly wait to find it again, and see what I can make with it!
My itchy feet are cured! No getaway needed, instead just a heavy dose of homelust.
Magic is everywhere - I want to hear about the magic in YOUR back yard!
This really rings a bell for me. I've been a lifelong traveler and as proud as I've been of being a San Francisco native, I was always obsessed with getting away. Now, I've start....ed to embrace that same feeling of homelust (great coinage!). I still love going places, but I also LOVE being right here. As great as travel is, it's also a lot of disruption to any sort of regular rhythm of life.
Here's a piece from my memoir series about San Francisco and the magic of climbing Golden Gate Bridge late one night in the late 80's
https://open.substack.com/pub/bowendwelle/p/08-the-golden-gate
I love the life in BC too. Im off grid in the southeastern Canadian Rockies south of Fernie BC. Life is good. I look forward to seeing and sharing ideas and experiences of nature. Cheers!