Stop this thing and let me off. I think I'm on the wrong planet. Ever feel that way? I have, like forever.
George Harrison, after the Beatles, said,
"Sometimes I feel like I'm actually on the wrong planet. It's great when I'm in my garden but the minute I go out the gate I think, 'What the hell am I doing here?'"
He found his own tribe, and it wasn't "out there" in the material-obsessed world.
I have found parts of my own tribe in unlikely places. Other countries, the backcountry, and in the club of people who have never joined clubs.
“What about those of us who just don’t fit in, who feel as if we were born on the Wrong Planet, or in the wrong time period?
Where did we come from? Is this a whole counter-culture that’s new to the planet, moving us forward? Have we finally reached the Age of Aquarius? Is it now?
Is the moon in the seventh house? Has Jupiter finally aligned with Mars? And are we right now getting ready to see mystic crystal revelation where love will steer the stars?
Afraid not.
There have always been people who see the world differently from everyone else. And there always will be.
If you’re one of the ‘chosen ones’ then you come from a long line of Gypsies, tramps and thieves, of rebels and revolutionaries, of pagans, infidels and sceptics.
This is your heritage, and you have much to be proud of.”
I happily found more precious tribe members when I started blogging in this space.
Thank you to everyone that has made this such an amazing experience for Linda and I. We are grateful for what you have added to our lives.
Going forward into this perpetual state of emergency it is going to be important to know your tribe.
Who are the people you can ride out these tumultuous times with together? That will enhance your surroundings with joy, music, dance, and laughter?
Also, food and support when the going gets tough.
How is the search for your tribe going?
I found my tribe, but one by one they are dying. It is quite shocking. When my friend was 94, she said all her friends but one was dead. I think I am heading there.
ReplyDeleteI guess that is what will happen to us all if we are "lucky" enough. Sorry for your mounting losses. It is hard to lose members of your tribe. Each one is so precious. Take care, and long may you live.
Delete- Gregg
"...the club of people who have never joined clubs" has always been my club/tribe. After my family exploded when I was all of seven years old I was raised in a Christian evangelical cult. This ever questioning mind certainly did not fit in that club, but simply being within that "in the world but not part of the world" group meant I didn't fit in the world at large either. I figured out pretty early that I didn't like and really didn't want to live my life parallel to any of those around me - don't like debt, not fond of stuff for the sake of stuff, my idea of being a consumer is to keep and use things until they are consumed - so, to quote the t-shirt my best friend gave me a few years ago for my birthday, " I live in my own little world, but that's okay, they know me here." Like Practical Parsimony my tribe is shrinking every year as one by one the planet/universe finds other uses for our physical essence. Every time I come to NBA I feel like it's okay, y'all know me here. I hope it's okay if I call you part of my tribe.
ReplyDeleteOkay? How about honoured? We know you, and still love you!
DeleteMy tribe came into sharp focus the past 2 years - some of those I thought were solid as a rock, aren't. I still very much love and appreciate them, but know that we aren't on the same wavelength about some very important things. I can't be my whole self with them anymore. I'm still coming to terms with that.
ReplyDeleteThe ones that I do align with, my tribe, are ever-more precious to me. I know we'll need each other moving forward. And that there are more of us than I used to think. Peace, NBA tribe! -Erin
I know what you are saying. I think the past two years changed everything. Perhaps that was the intention from the start. Glad you are with us. Take care.
DeleteThere is so much truth in what you are saying. The events of the past two years have certainly been eye-opening. I have learned things about people I thought I knew well that have left me nonplussed and have contributed to a weird new kind of hypervigilance I never dreamed I would need. New world.
DeleteI totally understand this feeling of not belonging, which I have had all my life. For me, Suzanne Vega summed it up very well in the lyrics of her beautiful song 'Left of Center'
ReplyDeleteIf you want me
You can find me
Left of center
Off of the strip
In the outskirts
In the fringes
In the corner
Out of the grip