Whenever I travel by myself I feel an odd feeling of disconnection upon arrival. Part of this feeling is from just being in a new place and trying to find my way around. Part of it is that whenever I fly in to a place I don't have an orietation of where north, south, east or west is. Part of it is the fact that I'm in a city full of people and I don't know a single one of them. For me, it's not a frightening feeling. It's more of an emotional vertigo. For me this feeling is part of the adventure of traveling. And it abates in time as I become familiar with the place I'm staying and the surrounding geography.
But even if this feeling subsides a bit, I still feel the tug of the connections to home. I'm just a visitor here. I'll meet other travelers and share stories, but all of us know that any connections we might make will be long-distance ones. I enjoy the adventure of travel, but the knowledge that I have a familiar place to return to makes such an adventure possible.
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3 comments:
Eric,
Thanks for your comments. Home is a powerful magnet that seems an integral part of our identity. I wonder if hell includes a feeling of homelessness.
Dad
I've believe that hell is God's ultimate mercy upon those who reject Him. The prophets who encountered God's glory became like dead men. Angles must shield their faces from His glory. What torture would it be for those who want nothing to do with Him to live forever in His presence? And one author I read states that the torments of hell are also God's mercy so that hell doesn't become worse than God would allow. Without the restraint of His presence, even as limited as it is on earth, men would create a place too hellish. Fiery torment is a distraction in the same way a toothache debilitates you so that you don't have the drive to turn your attention to anything else.
I know what you mean by emotional vertigo. I have traveled alone to San Francisco, New York City, Austin and Raleigh/Durham. I was never afraid, but I felt out of place and disconnected from my life. It's such a wonderful feeling to be home again.
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