That Other Place

“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” — Frederick Buechner

Sometimes I imagine that there is a place where things are clean and new. A place with straight lines, clear answers, and predictability; a place that sparkles and shines. A place where well-manicured people move with ease and confidence, where people pat your hand and say there-there and tell you just what you wanted to hear, where things fall into place and the puzzle pieces fit.

I often find myself longing for that quiet and easy place, searching for it in far corners. And when I can’t find it, I set out to create it. I want to make a home there, hunker down, and never leave.

But then there is this other place. A place where things are a little bit muddy and old, slightly blemished and tainted. A confusing and wide-open place filled with windy roads, few answers, and even less predictability. A place with chipped paint and rusting metal and secrets waiting to be discovered; a place awash in colors so vibrant that it almost hurts the eyes. A place where people wear scars and tear-stained cheeks and crooked smiles that hold a soft wisdom, where people carry sad stories and sweet stories, where people work hard and love fiercely.

And as nice as that imagined place seems, as often as I find myself trying to find it, I know with an almost instinctive certainty, that much prefer that other place. That even if my imagined place existed, I would still want that other place – the one with surprises so mind-blowing, beauty so breath-taking, and struggle so heart-breaking that it can bring you to your knees. I would choose the place with a heartbeat and a spirit and a soul.

Yes, I definitely want that other place.

It is, after all, the World.

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This post is part of the weekly Photo Inspiration Challenge with Angie McMonigal Photography – she send me a photo, I write a post inspired the photo. Make sure to visit her website or Facebook page. Her work is both stunning and inspirational.