People are the truest place
When I mentally turn my head back and wonder what I was guided by when choosing my dreams, I always catch myself thinking that it was absolutely nothing. Dreams would appear in my head in the form of a flare-up or some kind of thought, but such that you don’t feel the need to think through. You don’t feel that this thought is worth thinking over, because you instantly know that it’s the one you’ve been waiting for somehow and you will surrender a part of your life to it. And although it is impetuous, it’s always strong enough that you follow it, completely without reason and into the ends of the universe. Then there are those that appeared in my imagination when I was very young and although still unfulfilled, their strength appears undiminished. Some might call it naivety; I call it staying true to oneself.
With time, I see this thought that appears out of nowhere, one tiny thought, inconspicuous, able to change the course of our life with its determination. To be honest, I have never been disappointed with pursuing this instinct, there have always been presents and surprises somewhere on the way. Sometimes I was awaited by a cat in a poke, but what would life be without those? Pure boredom, I suppose.
In my case, the thought – spark, often regarded moving and please believe me when I say that it was not planned. But when the spark ignites, we all know things can get interesting.
With time, I can calmly admit to myself that this little journey did not lead to places – it led to people. The road itself, a long pilgrimage in isolation, can definitely be a great lesson, but I suppose during every pilgrimage, we meet at least one person on the way, and when you set off so far, then even if you don’t exchange a word, this meeting will surely live long in your memory. There are rarely lone climbs on the Mount Everest too. Climbing this high all alone is pure madness, just like it would be madness to live without people.
I do miss how I felt in a certain place, but I felt it in the presence of others who were feeling it too. The places where I had to feel on my own I recall as arriving at myself; these were important stages of development from the inside. In this, I also include places where I have been with people out of alignment, where we pushed one another back because our energies could not synchronize although we wanted it very much (or not:)). It’s merely a signal that the soul wishes to speak with itself, which may be difficult. That is why we recall these places a bit less. But the importance of these meetings with those who don’t care for us is just as great, because they signal that’s it’s the perfect time to direct attention inside.
It was once said that it’s the people that create places. We are more likely to remember how somebody made us feel rather that a temporary delight over a spectacular sunrise somewhere beautiful. It’s the people rather that the beautiful views which can get boring when seen too many times, that keep us in places. Cool people never get boring, and every meeting can give us entirely different emotions. We return to places where we feel loved , accepted and needed, and we forget about those where our presence makes no difference in the lives of others. The places I recall the most warmly were just that because of the people. Sometimes I get the feeling that we appear somewhere just so that our paths cross with somebody else’s. Those are often the so-called “people-lessons”, and once we meet them, life is never the same. That’s when I always think that the beautiful view was merely an external factor used by me as a pretext to meet somebody and to do another homework from life.
The home is in the man, and not in a piece of land. And the most beautiful place is the human heart.
Thoughts from Wrocław, Spring 2021, Wrocław; Summer 2022 publication
photo by @anna_zachwey from collab with @cosycreation