Episode 17 - Amsterdam Present: Rotterdam or Anywhere

Frayed and tempered by time and nostalgia I'm thinking of home, Rotterdam, and being mindfully present on the highly comfortable and efficient Dutch trains.

A transcript of this Haiku Life podcast together with photos will be available on the mygreatergood.com website.

You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram - Haiku Life Podcast.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Haiku Life Podcast, where we take a little exploration into some abbreviated moments. Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. It is traditionally focused on nature and captures a fleeting moment within the space of three lines and a 5-7-5 syllable count. In a world so overwhelmingly immersive, a haiku is a moment of respite. These haiku are mine, moments of life, thoughts in the ether. Early morning train this could be Rotterdam or anywhere. But home? Connor and I boarded an early January morning train. We found seats, though not immediately together, seats packed with commuters going to work. I immediately felt almost at home. I took early morning Dutch trains once to Rotterdam, to an actual job in Pricewater House offices. I would catch a bus to Leiden Centrum and board the train for the thirty minute ride to Rotterdam. Commuters wrapped in their own thoughts, eyes in a book, it was before the age of smartphones, or a soft gaze into the darkness as it slowly dissipated, polders becoming gradually visible, sheep unmoved by dawn's encroachment. I felt a little stab regret or nostalgia. I felt vaguely at home on that early morning train, wherever it was going, Rotterdam or anywhere. I missed it. How ironic sitting on this train taking me us to an exciting new destination, and here I am staring out of the window reflecting on past memories on a train to Rotterdam. Frayed and tempered by time and nostalgia, I'm thinking could this be home again? Ironic really, I spent most of the first year we lived in the Netherlands desperately lonely and unhappy. Could not have felt further from home if I tried. Home, the place you love, a place of sanctuary and safety. In the Bible, a sacred space for refuge, family and spiritual formation. From a stoic point of view, home is merely a construct. Nowhere can one find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in one's own soul. So, from Marcus Aurelius' perspective, my home travels with me, and I am always at home no matter where I am physically. The Buddhist view is that your true home is in the here and now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality or race. Your true home is not an abstract idea. With mindfulness and concentration, you can find your true home in the present moment. I am not so enlightened. If you were to ask me, my immediate response would be home is where my husband and children are, and my dog, where we snuggle on the couch and watch TV, or sit around a real fire while Gordon grills or lie next to the pool in the sun and listen to the birds, my refuge and sanctuary. That's my straight up definition of home, and I acknowledge that with so much gratitude. It is a long, far cry from sleeping for three years on a mattress on the floor in our small Netherlands apartment when that was home. But deep inside myself, a place seldom ventured, but stirred momentarily when my favourite song plays and I hear the lyrics Soon be home only just a few miles down the road My thoughts go to another road another town another time and continent entirely probably the same as what my children would say if asked about home if I'm lucky. But let's not dwell. In particular, let's not dwell on the past. Concentrate your mind on the present moment the present moment. Dutch trains are comfortable and efficient. Connor and I are going on an adventure. Morning is slowly seeping across a winter sky deep purple to steely lavender blush pink fading into frosty white steam fog rising from canals through sleepy fields sheep unmoved by dawn's encroachment at home. Thank you for listening to today's Haiku Life Podcast. You can follow me on Facebook and Instagram. A transcript of this podcast can also be found on the my greatergood.com website. Matane, see you later.