Each morning I’m greeted by dawn in the desert. The beautiful sunrise brushes finger-thin rays of lemonade pink against the still sleeping mountains. Occasionally there are fleeting glimpses of coyotes on the golf course returning from their nocturnal hunt. Those hours just after dawn seem to draw out an interesting assortment of desert characters (human and otherwise) intent on enjoying the cool of morning before the heat of the day.
Dawn in Minnesota presents a different picture. The Midwest is less dramatic and more serene than California. For me, it’s two different two points of view, each speaking in many different tongues. Yet there is a similarity there for me. It’s a comfort zone where I can think and feel as I wish without judgement from others. It’s a far cry from the strict, regimented ‘follow the rules’ upbringing of my youth.
Geographically, California and
Minnesota are thousands of miles apart yet they are still connected by
out-of-the-box thinking and a deep-seated pride in pioneering frontier values
and driving ambition. There’s a common thread running between the two with
openness for all and acceptance of different points of view. Both offer a
realistic view of the world and not a closed-minded myopic wish for what used
to be. They focus on what could be and not what once was.
On the night America took a
sharp turn to the right my two adopted states continued a long tradition of
progressive thought and action. Certainly, there were blips along the way.
Neither party got everything they wanted but the human fabric and soul of both
states remained intact.
I started out last summer with high hopes for a continuation of my ‘Coffee and Chat’ sessions. Very quickly, reality crept into the picture and several past participants choose to go their separate ways. My remaining cerebral partners and I shared a wonderful summer, meeting up at parks, beach fronts, patios and coffee shops, to engage in a wide variety of verbal bantering, mental jousting and comradery. A wonderful salon for an exchange of ideas, thoughts, hopes and dreams.
Then last fall, as always, my
tenure in Minnesota is challenged by my West Coast other-half knocking on the
door of residency. Now that I’m part-time Californian, my perspective about my
home state has changed. I love California. It appeals to my restless youth,
errant and wandering mind, free soul, sometime corrupt and tranquilizing
imagination.
I have had a long and fractured romance with California. Its part delusional, part opportunistic and part magical. Mostly it’s a comfortable relationship that seems to bring out the flip side of
me that a lot of folks never
see. It is at once my friend, advisor, irritator and councilor. It forces me
outside of my Midwestern comfort zone.
It’s the cradle from which my imagination gives birth to creative, frivolous, silly and enlightened ideas, concepts and storylines. It inspires me and mocks me at the same time. It’s the flip side of that routine called lifestyle. If ever there were a strange balance in my life it might be labeled the Minnesota-California connection.
I live in two different worlds and I’m comfortable in both. One is progressive, adventurous and sometimes a bit outrageous but always leaning forward. For half a year I wear my Southern California flip-flops as comfortably as any other seeker. But I also live in the Midwest and I’m darn proud of that too.
Yet I know for a fact that come next spring, the same magical force will once again draw my attention back to Minnesota. There’s a quote I love that goes something like this: “At some point in the journey, you realize it’s time to head back home. It doesn’t matter where you are in the journey, the Gods begin calling and you must return home.” I think there is something about that mysterious force called ‘home’ that calls to all of us. It happens to me every fall and then again in the spring.
Both states have become home in more ways than one. They’re like a cradle upon which my imagination gives birth to creative, frivolous, silly and sometimes enlightened ideas, concepts and storylines. It’s the flip side of that routine called your average lifestyle.
What can I say; it works for me. I’m born and bred Minnesotan with a strong streak of California to taint my mind. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
No comments:
Post a Comment