Absence makes the heart grow fonder

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They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. This is generally true. Especially when you are plunged into a culture foreign from your own, in a place and with people you don’t necessarily know. You appreciate the blue sky and the stars at night. You long to wake up to the sound of bird calls in the early morning and the panting and lapping of your precious pets. But, the more you are present in the moment, the more you open your eyes, and heart, to what is around you, the more you grow fond of where you are and what you are experiencing. Despite the lack of blue sky (which I learned today is because of the almost permanent cloud formation found in a geographical basin) and stars, or the bird calls and pets, there is a liveliness in the air and a joy of being in the people that is slowly infectious and draws you in. If you are present, in mind and body, it slowly and gently draws you in and presence makes you fonder.

Arlene

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