Last night I was reading a book and I came upon this quote. It describes exactly how I have been feeling. It is from a book that was written in German. Titled: Self's Deception by Bernhard Schlink and translated by Peter Constantine. It is a mystery novel. I was deeply affected by these words as if they came from my own heart:
"But what really preoccupied me that weekend was my wanderlust and homesickness.
Wanderlust is the longing for a new country that we don't yet know, and homesickness is a longing for an old country that we no longer know, even if we think we do.
Why do I have this longing for the unknown? What do I want--to leave or to return?"
Those words totally capture how I have been feeling here. I change my mind everyday, stay or leave? Great writing. Wish I could write like that.
Wow Patricia !!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is me as well........:-)
We moved away from home....Ontario 20 years ago and now live in the US....I still am homesick
BUT is home still home ?
As we are reaching retirement I wish I knew :-)
Looking forward to see what your decision is "and" hopefully we will meet again in Ajijic next month...........we will arrive Feb 22
Take Care.......CC
Oh Patricia - how this speaks to me! I'm so glad I'm the first to comment (otherwise I'd not be able to, still). Thank you for addressing this.
ReplyDeleteFor me it is, I think, a feeling of being somewhat adrift, caught between worlds, not "belonging" in/to either. I am eager to go/ move/explore and yet feeling as if I have roots is important, too. Yet if I stay too long anywhere I get antsy.
A gypsy soul? Perhaps. Yet how I'd love (I think?) to have roots, a home, a family (that no longer means children, though at one time it did). Now, at (almost) 62, I am redefining "family". Well, "home', too, I suppose. I continue to reinvent myself/my life, and one day will one "stick"?
I have no idea.....
Thank you yet again for a timely post!
Barbara
Hi Patricia
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that quote !!!!!!!!!
I wrote on your blog yesterday ...don't know what happened to it....lol
It sounds like ME.......we have lived in the US for 20 years and I still miss HOME ( Ontario )
BUT is home really home anymore ?
I am anxious to hear what you decide
We will be in Ajijic Feb 22 and maybe our paths will cross again..only not on the bus after having route canal :-)
take Care
CC
HI CC, Thank you for writing. I am in the restaurant listening to Unchained Melody. WOW. That song brings tears to my eyes. It too is like that quote. Yes, please contact me in Feb. Patricia
ReplyDeleteHI Barbara, Thank you for writing. I am glad you too related to that quote. It says a lot. Maybe we will only feel like we are HOME when we die? Otherwise, living is always a shifting around from one temporary home to another. P
ReplyDeleteWell, what did Bernhard Schlink have to say about it, if he was so preoccupied by the duality of the possibility?
ReplyDeleteHe had no answers. It was a mystery novel, not a philosophy book. His next sentence was that he had a roaring tooth ache and had to forget about it and go to the dentist. So he was no help. P
ReplyDelete