it is what it is...being 'in' the element

I hadn't realized how much I miss culture.  Not just the food (most of which I can not longer eat anyway) but the way people are.  We are NOT the same.  There are many difference that I miss; like......

I got on the bus today and there was the old familiar and usually standard 'Hola', whether you are a stranger or not.  They take the same bus and so make the effort to know who is on and who isn't.  A stranger is a curious thing to them so...you have conversation.

Then you have those with the 'wassup' or 'GOOD MORNIN' and they check you out; making sure you are not some riff raf on their route.

Then you have those with the wave while saying a greeting (much more forward, they ask where you are from...etc.)

The ride was pleasant to say the least.  Plus, there is safety in that.  People watch out for you when they know you are on the same route daily.  I find this common in the suburbs.

I drove around the neighborhood and it is a town I was once very familiar with.  My father used to work around those suburban towns.  Each one I visited held a lovely memory...a diner, a park, a store, a building.  I felt as though in a way he was telling me that I would do well here.  I would heal well and plan ahead....  As he did.  He lived around those parts (we lived around those parts) during a time he needed to financially grow and he did that.  We suffered for nothing while growing up.

With the hustle and bustle of the impersonal NYC and the similar small town in NJ, it is great to breath in the scent of the trees, grass and flowers while smiling back at someone that is not in a hurry or upset.

Being 'in' the element is definitely healing.