Readers, I’m sending you to Djibouti Jones today where she is beginning a collaborative project with a childhood friend of mine, Paul Seaman, an author and writer who has done a tremendous amount of thinking and writing on third culture kids. Enjoy and be sure to join the conversation!
“A culture doesn’t happen by accident. Neither does it simply evolve through inevitable phases and developments.
The beliefs and emotional tone of a culture are based on countless discoveries and the meanings assigned to the structures created. As global nomads, our culture is largely invisible. It has no geographic boundaries and no designated symbols. We resort to surveys and anecdotes, cautiously giving labels to the patterns we see. What we name becomes an identity, but one that is never quite complete because the labels are porous and the patterns keep shifting. A roving heart and ambiguity are commonly part of the global nomad legacy; but they are also aspects of a way of life many of us have chosen—with all its costs and merits. Living in limbo means we might often feel anchorless, but it also suggests that we are good sailors and bridge builders.
Instead of pushing boundaries, we pull on them—curious about what they are made of, what function they are supposed to serve.”
We find commonalities where others may see none. We ourselves can be bridges across the limbo, not to explain it away, but to provide someplace solid from which to explore it.
Read the rest of Our Tribal Elders here: http://www.djiboutijones.com/20…/…/our-tribal-elders-part-1/
*Paul Asbury Seaman as published in Our Tribal Elders Part 1 on Djibouti Jones.
