Things Left Behind
Thing: an object that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to. (things) personal belongings or clothing. 2. an inanimate material object, especially as distinct from a living sentient being. This morning it occured to me that my life has been so much about leaving things behind ... 
And it should go without saying, I miss people more but today I was thinking of things missed. I lived in one place until I was 20 and so nothing prepared me for the constant stream-lining of possessions that lay ahead of me. I moved house at least 11 times during my marriage, then 4 times after the divorce and before leaving for Turkey ... two homes in Istanbul and now here I am, unbelievably possessionless in Belgium. I have so many books, a beautiful desk and chair, and a bed that I love back in New Zealand ... photo albums, precious things like that. I left my winter clothing back in Istanbul, with other things ousted by my 240euro excess book luggage ... I was flying back there last September but haven't managed it yet ... waiting to be legal, then legal to work. Here ... I have two journals, a laptop full of photographs, my cds and dvds, my camera gear and my books. The oddest things make me remember ... this time it was the new cup we bought yesterday. I love beautiful things ... the shape, the colour, how it fits in my hand, and what I feel when I use it. The new cup has made me nostalgic for things left behind ... in Istanbul and in New Zealand. Mostly I don't think of these things but sometimes, just sometimes, I miss them.
And it should go without saying, I miss people more but today I was thinking of things missed. I lived in one place until I was 20 and so nothing prepared me for the constant stream-lining of possessions that lay ahead of me. I moved house at least 11 times during my marriage, then 4 times after the divorce and before leaving for Turkey ... two homes in Istanbul and now here I am, unbelievably possessionless in Belgium. I have so many books, a beautiful desk and chair, and a bed that I love back in New Zealand ... photo albums, precious things like that. I left my winter clothing back in Istanbul, with other things ousted by my 240euro excess book luggage ... I was flying back there last September but haven't managed it yet ... waiting to be legal, then legal to work. Here ... I have two journals, a laptop full of photographs, my cds and dvds, my camera gear and my books. The oddest things make me remember ... this time it was the new cup we bought yesterday. I love beautiful things ... the shape, the colour, how it fits in my hand, and what I feel when I use it. The new cup has made me nostalgic for things left behind ... in Istanbul and in New Zealand. Mostly I don't think of these things but sometimes, just sometimes, I miss them.