It is so interesting how someplace can feel so easy to be in, and then out of the blue, there's an illustration of how different you really are. I was at the post office last week, and several of us in line commented on the fact that the clock on the wall showed the wrong date of the month. But by the time I got to the window, I had forgotten about it and didn't bring it to the clerk's attention. So I went to the same post office again yesterday, and was rather surprised that the clock was still showing the wrong date. Someone in line pointed this out to an employee, and they said that they could not do it themselves, that a requisition had gone in for a repair. Perhaps it was something that needed more than an easy re-set, but my American "can-do" spirit was -- what? -- amused I guess.
My encounter with Julian of Norwich has been quite life-changing, really. When you can finally answer a question that you've been asking your whole life, it changes everything. When I get a little further down this new stretch of river, I may come to realize that the question was less about "where should I live?" than "how shall I live?" And of course this has been suggested to me many times in the past. But we all need to figure these things out ourselves, when we are ready. The timing was right and the place was right for the life lesson, and finally I really love who I am, no matter what the circumstances or situation, and understand how I want to live. I'm leaving Cambridge tomorrow to visit friends in the West of England, and yet it's hard to imagine topping this part of the trip. It has been sort of a Dorothy moment -- when you finally realize "home" was in you all along.
