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A Hiatus at Home - or is it?
by Mary Z. McGrath, Ph.D.
Two maps – one of the United States and another of the world, sit prominently in our lower level den. Small red, blue and green dots scatter across both maps. On closer examination a key reveals that blue indicates the places where my husband has traveled, green where we have traveled together and red where I have gone.
The maps seem to draw the attention of visitors who come to our home and the location of the dots supply us with ready conversation. Blue dots highlight such remarkable places as Bali, Egypt, Turkey and Thailand. Green dots draw the eye to other countries of interest like New Zealand, Australia, Russia, and Costa Rica. Red dots bring notice to other places such as Togo, Guam, Israel and Italy.
In early April, we canceled two spring trips due to a sudden change in life style. My husband fell and fractured a disk in his back. Due to that unfortunate incident, travel for recreation is out of the question right now because of his medical restrictions.
Both of us have always loved travel, not only because we were able to explore new areas, experience new cultures and meet fascinating and friendly people, but also for the renewed mindset and heightened awareness of our circumstances that it provided. Faced with this unforeseen change in our lives we now spend a great deal of time in our own home. Instead of the songs of a street musician we hear the voices of children on our block, the traffic helicopter above and repair trucks passing by. In contrast to the sights and sounds of cities in distant lands we have grown to watch and listen for the routines and rhythms of our own neighborhood.
Here the familiar call of birds begins the day. What a contrast to awakening in an Australian neighborhood to a chorus of complete new noises provided by nature. Likely the people who lived on the Brisbane block where we stayed were as familiar with their early morning wake up calls as we are with ours. However, as Americans transplanted in the Southern Hemisphere, we were highly attuned to these cadences of early morning creatures.
How would an Australian perceive our neighborhood noises? Likely their ears would be perked to hear the rattle of the wren and their curiosity piqued at the coo of the mourning dove. Since we are here and no longer in an exotic new area we still have the ability to listen with interest and intention to the sounds normally common to us in order to make them objects of our curiosity and interest too.
Spring and summer provide us with budding plants and colorful flowers. If we were visiting a garden in New Zealand each blossom would easily draw our attention. Just because our purple and pink phlox and red and white bleeding hearts grow successfully in Minnesota they needn’t take a second place to any- thing we saw for the first time while traveling in that tiny island country in the front yard of Antarctica. In a sense we could see ourselves positioned in the back yard of the northern arctic area. Thus we too inhabit a unique place on the planet. Just because our home happens to be in Burnsville, it does not mean that unusual and beautiful plants don’t grow here. It is just a matter of realizing the loveliness that exists in our own area.
In the past we have traveled many places to see a variety of different birds. However, during spring migration anything is possible in terms of what can land right here in Minnesota. In fact our humble annual yard list now includes nineteen different species of birds and we are not located beside a wooded area or right near a pond. Interesting to any birder is the white-throated sparrow for example. Recently a couple of them dropped down to ground feed as they headed northward to find a summer residence.
If a Finnish or Japanese birder happened to stop by I am sure they would be delighted to enjoy the brilliant red cardinals that come to our feeder regularly. Certainly they would have laughed with amazement to see the great blue heron that landed on our neighbor’s roof recently. If such fictitious visitors could gain such joy and excitement over some of the more regular and ordinary occurrences in our yard, then certainly far be it from us to choose not to enjoy these events with equal appreciation!
As I walk from room to room in our house I can find a photo or a souvenir to bring my mind right into the memory of times past when we traveled to the location pictured or where the item was purchased. I could muse for many minutes over my collection of children’s books in other languages or dolls costumed to represent the nations where they were purchased. Also, while here feeling somewhat tied down, I can choose to rekindle the travel mindset as I peer out my back which frames white and purple lilacs.
Last evening following a storm the sunset spotlighted our yard with a unique tone of color. As lightening flashed intermittently across the dark sky a rainbow emerged from behind a house across the street. Reflecting on it a rainbow we had seen in Hawaii comes to mind. With the same excitement and enthusiasm of a tourist, I grabbed my camera to capture the cloud patterns and this short-lived arc of color.
While in our homes we can turn the common vegetation, location and situations into the special and unique. Having experienced such awe and interest while on vacation we have all experienced the mindset of noticing the special and out of the ordinary anywhere it occurs. By transferring this ability to view the world as wondrous to the nooks and crannies of our own homes or the people in our families and on our block, our split second decision to live fully enhances any circumstance. Life continues whether we are in a hospital, assisted living residence, home with the flu or choosing solitude to regroup after a busy week at work.
Without packing so much as an overnight case we can bid adieu to indifference to our surroundings and step forward each day with a bon voyage attitude – one of expectation that fresh and new events await us, even in our own back yards! Carpe diem!
Mary Z. McGrath, Ph.D. works with schools, parents and organizations who support wellness and the family’s potential. She is the author of Teachers Today: A Guide to Surviving Creatively (Corwin Press), a member of the National Speakers Association and speaks regionally through her business, Reflections Resources Ltd.
E-mail: info@maryzmcgrath.com
Website: http://www.maryzmcgrath.com
Ph: 952-894-7707
Fax: 952-890-3229.
As seen in Stressfree Living Magazine, June 2004. Article cannot be reproduced without written permission from Stressfree Living Magazine.
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