“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
Nelson Mandela
I imagine Mandela felt this more than many of us ever really do. But it holds true I think even if the place you go back to has changed.
For me I notice the ways in which I have changed or altered most when I return home to Canberra.
It is a city that some love and some hate, but I have always loved it - the air, the buildings and the ease of moving about because it is ingrained in me. My last stint in Canberra was as a very busy executive. There was no such thing as a weekend, mobiles had to be turned on by 5am (and this was 10 years ago, before social media became the norm) and your life was basically not your own.
I return now to visit friends and occasionally do some work-work; and I realise how vastly different Fiona of today is to Fiona who worked there a decade ago. Canberra has changed of course, but some of what drives it hasn't and some of what it takes to be 'successful' there certainly hasn't and it is nice to know that in those ways in particular, I have changed.
My life is much more my own; I am not hooked up to a device and checking every minute; I am calmer, happier, and healthier; and poorer but richer.
And now when I'm in Canberra I spend lots of time looking at art all over the place! A piece by G.W. Bot - Seed Glyphs.
And wishing all my friends who get to attend and show at Noted in Canberra a wonderful wonderful time!
Nelson Mandela
I imagine Mandela felt this more than many of us ever really do. But it holds true I think even if the place you go back to has changed.
For me I notice the ways in which I have changed or altered most when I return home to Canberra.
It is a city that some love and some hate, but I have always loved it - the air, the buildings and the ease of moving about because it is ingrained in me. My last stint in Canberra was as a very busy executive. There was no such thing as a weekend, mobiles had to be turned on by 5am (and this was 10 years ago, before social media became the norm) and your life was basically not your own.
I return now to visit friends and occasionally do some work-work; and I realise how vastly different Fiona of today is to Fiona who worked there a decade ago. Canberra has changed of course, but some of what drives it hasn't and some of what it takes to be 'successful' there certainly hasn't and it is nice to know that in those ways in particular, I have changed.
My life is much more my own; I am not hooked up to a device and checking every minute; I am calmer, happier, and healthier; and poorer but richer.
And wishing all my friends who get to attend and show at Noted in Canberra a wonderful wonderful time!
Glyphs ... a perfectly wonderful word! Bot's artistry called to mind the images in Penny Berens' Tanglewood Threads http://tanglewoodthreads.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-wander-through-woods.html ... particularly the graffiti tree
ReplyDeleteAnd oh, how I do appreciate your tale of leaving the executive life behind. Such liberation there is to be found in the creative life!
Glyphs are the best Liz! As I sit here in t-shirt and shorts after a weekend of workshops, I am ever so happy to call the creative life my own. Go well.
DeleteWhat a fine snapshot you've given us of the former life of Fiona....I'm sure it's quite hard to imagine, given where you are now, how you lived at such a pace. There are tradeoffs with anything, but it's always good to know in our hearts when we've made the right decision. There are many people now across the world who are fortunate to see your work and experience your insights...including me! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteAhh Patti you are most kind. When I get busy and stressed these days I do have to stop and say to myself Seriously? You might feel busy but you're not like you used to be! All is well. And yes, a decade ago it was getting mad but I expect it is now beyond belief mad. Happy to be a hermit on the mountain, who wanders occasionally. Go well.
DeleteI love the work of GW Bot!
ReplyDeleteMe too! A complete and utter fan!
DeleteI enjoyed hearing a bit more about the Fiona of the past...I think many of us "know" you only as Fiona the Artist Extraordinaire - an inspiring & authentic presence in the online world!
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful exercise to see ourselves against the backdrop of something so "great" as a place - something so much bigger & more concrete than ourselves, yet with an ebbing & flowing over its basic structure. It's definitely a dynamic way to consider ourselves...
Thanks Lisa (not quite sure about any adjective like extraordinaire... but) - we all have lives in the past and we meet as we are now, which is grand. I think because I grew up there, moved away, went back and now have moved away again I get an interesting perspective on the place, and on myself. Albeit at different ages. I imagine moving a lot may mean it's different, but even Lisa arriving in Florence and Lisa now living in Florence may be a wee bit different? Fun to ponder nonetheless! Go well.
DeleteIt's interesting to notice how much we change; I guess that's why they say, "You can't go home again." On the flip side of that are people like me who've stayed in the same place, like me, watching it change until it becomes unrecognizable in comparison to when I was growing up. Both are a little unsettling, I suppose. Thanks for sharing the Bot piece; it's fascinating...
ReplyDeleteSharmon what an interesting flip to the quote - staying and watching the place change. Intriguing as well...
DeleteBot is so very very good, so glad you enjoyed.