Blue Talisman Eau de Parfum
13 hours ago
Friday, January 11, 2008
distance and longing
being in a foreign country opens up a lot of things. first distance is a given. one has the chance to really ponder distance and how it interacts with the daily life of an individual. the distance one keeps from strangers and even from loved ones. when the doors are open and the role that longing has in how and when these doors are opened.
desire has a lot to do with longing, but it is really quite a different matter all together. you can desire something and never long for it. yet you cannot long for something that you have never desired.
longing also cannot exist without distance. how that distance is created could be many things. it could be emotional, imaginary, intentional, physical. the physical distance of one to their 'real' life is quite significant when on vacation in a foreign country. even if the traveller is fluent in the language of the country being visited, there are always nuances which may be missed, by both parties (the tourist and the native). there is also the distance between the native and the tourist which is felt almost instantaneously by the tourist. the native doesn't experience this until they become aware that they are interacting with a tourist, with an observer. and that is what a tourist is really. an observer of the lives of others. their brain is taking notes and working even without he/she knowing. all of the information around them is new. there is anything that can be assumed or taken for granted.
the distance created through travel can then be exasperated by longing. longing can also exist in many different forms. the traveler could long to be a part of this new culture and society that they are experiencing as well as longing to be rid of it and back, safely nestled in their own world.
no matter what the traveller will have to return to their 'real' world. to the world that they have put on pause/mute for the entire time of their vacation (if they are vacationing correctly). the return could take place at the same time as a new longing. the new longing of the new culture, of the new adventures, through the distance created upon the return and adaption into the way that things were.
desire has a lot to do with longing, but it is really quite a different matter all together. you can desire something and never long for it. yet you cannot long for something that you have never desired.
longing also cannot exist without distance. how that distance is created could be many things. it could be emotional, imaginary, intentional, physical. the physical distance of one to their 'real' life is quite significant when on vacation in a foreign country. even if the traveller is fluent in the language of the country being visited, there are always nuances which may be missed, by both parties (the tourist and the native). there is also the distance between the native and the tourist which is felt almost instantaneously by the tourist. the native doesn't experience this until they become aware that they are interacting with a tourist, with an observer. and that is what a tourist is really. an observer of the lives of others. their brain is taking notes and working even without he/she knowing. all of the information around them is new. there is anything that can be assumed or taken for granted.
the distance created through travel can then be exasperated by longing. longing can also exist in many different forms. the traveler could long to be a part of this new culture and society that they are experiencing as well as longing to be rid of it and back, safely nestled in their own world.
no matter what the traveller will have to return to their 'real' world. to the world that they have put on pause/mute for the entire time of their vacation (if they are vacationing correctly). the return could take place at the same time as a new longing. the new longing of the new culture, of the new adventures, through the distance created upon the return and adaption into the way that things were.
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