As you may have read here recently, I have been away for a fortnight. Yesterday I returned. And all throughout I have been thinking. About the familiar.
The familiar is what bores us. The familiar is waking up and doing much the same thing we have done for God knows how long. The familiar is what drives us away, seeking fresh adventures and something to put a little extra zing in our step, a little bit of a rush in our blood. The familiar is often despised.
And yet, when our sojourn is over and we return to the place we call home, the familiar is warm and comfortable to put on, like a favorite shirt or a comfortable pair of shoes. It's a balm, and a peace, and the feeling of safety.
It's a rest from the road, a surcease from the strange, and a warm embrace from and for arms too long empty.
As the saying goes, it is two different sides of the same coin. The familiar is both foe and friend. It's the crazy uncle you avoid at reunions and a favorite aunt you just can't visit enough; the one who makes you wish you never had to leave.
The familiar is what I left behind two weeks ago and the familiar is what I joyously returned to yesterday.
It was, simply, a fabulous vacation.
It is, simply, a delight to be home.
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Mark's Musings is published on a periodical basis - right now on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays - but that may change without notice. Find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/baldmark. This blog is considered to be a digital periodical publication and is filed as such with the U.S. Library of Congress; ISSN 2154-9761.
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