Hi
readers, how have you all been?
I am on
my Thanksgiving break now, and as per usual tradition, I am in a café while
writing this blog post. No, I am not in Portlandia’s Portland (which refers to
Oregon) but I am at the one in Maine.
I think
life’s greatest luxury is paying three dollars for a delicious cup of black
coffee and sitting around while pouring your thoughts into paper. Yep, you got
it right, I drove off three hundred miles away from Amherst just to hide myself
in a coffee shop and write.
This
trip was inspired by my trip to Tahara in Japan. There, I learned that there is
some value in isolating yourself, going somewhere far off, leaving a lot of
things unplanned, and learn to live by the moment. I set off my journey looking
for an answer, and although I don’t think I have found it yet, I feel I am
somewhat closer to it.
Answer
to what? Truth be told, I have been feeling a bit disoriented as of late.
Whatever the cause may be, I know that it is all rooted in my attitude, not my
external circumstances. If I am truly honest to myself, I am hard pressed to
find instances where I am genuinely happy in the past month or so. I have been
burying myself in the midst of schoolwork, books, and comics. There seemed to
be something that I was avoiding, something that I did not want to face. Also,
it’s not that I felt out of touch with my friends and social group – I had
meaningful interactions and conversations with my friends, but I still couldn’t
avoid the feeling that I was unplugged from my source.
Yet, how
come is it, in the middle of Maine, in a city with thousands of unknown faces,
in the midst of the shopping district and the hustle and bustle of cars and
pedestrians, I find warmth?
When I
put the first sip of coffee to my mouth, I was so grateful. I was so thankful
to be alive, to be able to enjoy the citrusy, cherryish coffee. I was grateful
to be able to stare out of the window, to stare at the passersby, and to enjoy
the rows of shops across the street. I was grateful that, the long, winding
road I took eventually took me here.
Thank
you, Portland. Now I remember to smile, to laugh, to live, and to enjoy life.
