Collage and Ink on Paper.
After returning from my most recent trip, my mother said something to me that I have been thinking about since. She said, “It must have been nice to be in the real world for a little while.”
Yes. It was. And I started thinking about the phrase “welcome to the ‘real’ world’ – almost always referring to the work/responsibility/bill-paying part of our lives. I thought about what Mom had said … about the real world. The Real real world. The one where you have the time to get in touch with and pay attention to what is truly important. This is not the world of working at a job you don’t love, being responsible to a list of things you don’t feel connected to, or paying bills for things you could honestly go without.
I spent the better part of the day thinking about the balance between the synthetic work-world we create and the REAL real world. I felt the weight of both, and I understand the need for both. For me, the synthetic world of work is necessary and appreciated as a means to enjoy the real world. As the clock counted down until the time I had to go to work, I daydreamed about the real world (via Google earth and my new Cambodia travel guide).