Restless Reminders

We are surrounded by traces of the past.  Of course, some are better than others at throwing out those things that tend to accumulate over time, but still, if you look closely, things creep into our life that find a semi-permanent place somewhere around us.

Examples might be a coffee mug picked up on a trip to a museum, or a book purchased in another state, or perhaps it is something much smaller such as an ink pen picked up at a trade show.  Over time, some of these things will be weeded out only to be replaced by other things.  These are what make for a "Sherlock Holmes" snapshot of who we are because they quickly build context for the places we have been and the things we have done.

Our inner life is filled with similar "tracks" that have been left behind by experience.  Each and every thing that we do affects us, sometimes in subtle ways, so that we carry within our minds and bodies a history of our life.  It might be the influence of a teacher many, many years ago, or it could be a fight with the neighbor kid when you were growing up.  It could be a trip you took to another state, or country, but still, whatever it is that we have done has had an effect.

When I see rows of perfectly spaced grain sorghum growing in fields, I think of a trip to Niger where the farmers planted millet by hand in roughly spaced rows in the red soils of the Sahel.  Their tools were primitive hoes as compared to the massive machinery used in this country.  When I see a new metal barn I think of the old Quonset barn on my grandfather's farm, or the massive wooden structures of the Midwest or, the black tobacco drying barns of Kentucky.  My mind connects those things into a patchwork of experience.  That experience affects my attitude and my behavior toward others.  It helps me to understand a little better than if I had never been exposed to those things.

Both the external and internal "tracks" that surround and fill me are largely the result of travel.  Not everyone has the opportunity to travel, but for those who do, I would highly encourage it.  It helps us to better understand and relate to others.  It is easy to believe that our way of thinking is correct when our exposure to other thought and experience is limited.

Maybe I'm getting a bit restless.  I'm ready for something new.