Zen and the Art of Relocation

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there. (Yogi Berra, former baseball manager)

It has been nearly two weeks since my last posting because I moved. Last week at this time, all of my earthly possessions were on a moving truck going from Manhattan to Westchester County. Thankfully, all these same possessions are now out of boxes, pictures have been hung, and the place doesn't look half bad, if I do say so myself.

Yes, this is the actual van full of all of our stuff.

So where is the zen in all of this? Peace in the midst of the firestorm of moving? Is there really a way to stay focused, practice higher levels of consciousness while everything you own is in a box somewhere -- but you aren't sure where?

Yes. And no.

My husband and I move about as often as some people (my husband) buy new shoes. We just lived in Manhattan for two years, and we expect to be in this house for somewhere between 1 and 2 years. We move. It's what we do. Between the two of us we have lived in 30 different places in our lives -- my husband has 13 of those, and I have 17. We know that we are not normal.

So here's where the zen comes in -- appreciating and truly loving every community, every church and every place that we have called home. When I am surrounded by the things that I love and that have meaning for me, I am home. When I am surrounded by the people that I love (mainly my husband) then I am home. Home is more a state of mind than a place. So for now, home is in Katonah, NY.