I know this brilliant woman, Alisha Paddock, who is working on her doctorate on the intriguing subject of sacred space. As part of her research she’s been studying the difference between space and place. Here’s how she briefly describes those differences at their very essence:
Space is an abstract concept and needs an identity, memories and certain behaviors attached to the space in order to change it to ‘place’. When people lose (their place and with it their sense of identity, their memories, their behavioral cues) because they have been displaced (by outside forces as refugees), or (by) travel, or because of a move, these people are re-placed and need to work at creating a new identity, defining proper behaviors for the new space, and staying long enough to create new memories. People need these types of connections not only to other people but also to places in order to feel grounded/stable/implaced.
This I Love Where I Live challenge highlights people that have chosen to create place again in a variety of new spaces. They are inspiring me to continue to settling, finding my new identity, creating new memories.
Mary N
I grew up in ‘the boonies’ in Zaire, in central Africa.
I currently live in the capital city of Cameroon, in central Africa.
1. I love godly coworkers.
2. I love rain.
3. I love the quiet life – not lots of media competition for the family’s time or focus.
4. I love the forest around our house and yet we’re close enough to the city to get most products.
5. I love living next to the school where we work – only needing
transportation once a week.
6. I love being able to exercise outside in all seasons.
Junehee K
I grew up in Incheon, South Korea.
I now live in Manhattan, Kansas
- I love Manhattan because it is a safe, very close-knit community.
- Manhattan is quiet and peaceful. I love cities, don’t get me wrong. I love the culture and convenience of living in large cities. I don’t mind traffic either. But living in Manhattan, there is no rush or crowdedness or bad air quality due to the large numbers of cars and people.
- Kansas State University provides numerous benefits for Manhattan residents. Sports and performing arts keep the community active and fun. Faculty and staff are heavily involved in community and local education institutions – helping young children dream big. Quality musical venues for young musicians are plenty.
- People are kind and genuinely care about the community and the next generation.
- Overall, the community is conservative – which I value.
- American Airlines flies in and out of Manhattan!- enough said.
Gavin M
I grew up in Murree, Pakistan.
I live in Glasgow, Scotland.
- I love Scotland as a country, it is beautiful, green, has large areas of unspoilt nature with lots of Mountains (283 over 3000 feet, google Munro), brilliant cycling, long distance walking, kayaking camping etc.
- I have a good job which pays me well and provides lots of stimulation to achieve my best (I’m still working out how to achieve that without pushing myself beyond my limits).
- My parents live an hour’s drive away and we see them relatively frequently.
- I am Scottish and proud of it (even when our national sports team seem to continuously let us down), we have recently increased our political stance in UK and Europe.
- There are many famous Scotts who have made some of the world most important discoveries (Flemming discovery of penicillin, Macintosh who made early waterproof raincoats, Macadam who introduced the layered format to road building and mixed it with tar to get the modern roadway).
- Scotland has a strong Christian heritage and still has Christianity as a cornerstone of its legal system.
Jenni L
I was born in Libya, grew up in Libya, Nigeria, the Congo, Virginia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
I am now living in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
I love living here because:
- I don’t need a car, it’s possible to get around by songthaew or tuk tuk;
- I love history, and there is so much history in this city and in this country;
- Chiang Mai is beautiful. The old city is one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever lived in.
- It’s far less expensive than Seattle, where I used to live and also loved.
- This is an international city. Every day I meet people from literally all over the world.
- I can easily travel to other Asian capitals, just a quick plane ride or bus ride away.
I learned when I was growing up that I needed to make a conscious decision to love a place before I moved there, and then I always do. The times when I have been unsure, I’ve been unhappy. I decided before moving to Thailand that I would love it, and I do. There are so many reasons to love where I live now, and the ones I listed above are just a few of many.
