Monday, October 26, 2009

For your comments on yesterdays blog. I am onw looking at the 'allow comments' option, and as I said I welcome your comments

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Where is Home? What is Home

Time to go blogging again. This suits me just fine, about 2X a year. Yes I am in Israel - came for 2 months this time. I cut a month off my usual stay, because I'm just a bit concerned about living life so far from 'home'.

"HOME" is such a complex concept. I know I should feel that this is my home. Would that it were so. I think I felt a bit more comfortable here before this last round of illness, but maybe not. The unusually hot weather, we were experiencing, reinforces my intolerance of the heat. Too often, I am the only one in the room who wants the air conditioning. What's wrong with all of them? Why aren't they hot?

The best thing about this country is the people. I do love them.

  • Perhaps it takes a particular type of person to prosper here, and it is that type that I am drawn to
  • Perhaps it is because so many of the people I meet are far from their families, and they compensate by building really warm strong relationships within their communities here, and I enjoy that warmth and inclusion.
  • Perhaps it is my old theory: those who make Aliya are the creme de la creme of the Jewish community, wherever they come from: New York, Chicago, Montreal Melbourne, Johannesbourg, London or Antwerp. They are well educated, accomplished adults, who have brought all of that and their ambitions, entrepreneurial skills and ability to work hard to a country that want and nurtures those talents.
More than any of these qualities they have a devotion to family and community, and it is that devotion that drives them. Many of them had it really good, wherever they came from, but a certain spirituality was lacking (a certain 'je ne sais quoi'), and it seems that Israel has filled that void.

Perhaps I just want more people like that in my life.

And yet I really want whatever it is that I have in Montreal. I can't give it definition, and it certainly isnt rational, but so it is.

This rant certainly hasn't helped me define home, but now that I have shared all this with you, perhaps you'll have some interesting input.