Suburban Field Journal

My goal was to publish a "Suburban Field Journal" post each Monday. It's my own personal project ~ something to keep my mind going ~ a fun research project each week. It's a subject that is obviously part of my every day life. I remember the day several years ago when I came across the book "Suburban Nation". I read it and had my own personal "aha moment". Other people felt the same way I did. It was comforting to me. One of my mottos in life is "Question Everything" and I do. I realize how lucky I am to live in such a nice place. Despite current economic issues in our country, I live in an area that is thriving. I am thankful for that. Still there are many issues here and ways that we can improve our suburban way of life. I'm hoping to capture some of that in these posts.

As you know, most of my suburban posts have a more negative tone. That will always be the case. Every once in a while, however, I also want to focus on the positive sides of Suburbia, when I can find them. This will be one of those posts. I didn't make my self-inflicted Monday deadline but I'll forgive myself. Just this once.

On Monday I headed out to get a mani/pedi. It was the MLK holiday and Alain had the day off. He's so good and often sends me out to do something just for me. A lot of other people must have had the same idea so I had to wait a while to be tended. As I was sitting there reading through the plethora of magazines and books I'd brought along, something caught my eye. It was a little shrine to Buddha on the floor in the corner of the nail salon. It captivated my attention. There was a HUGE fruit that I didn't recognize. A tiny little cup of tea. Several figurines. A candle (the flickering had caught my eye). Incense. Lots of coins. I looked at it for a long time and decided to take a picture. It warms my heart. And I only hope I didn't break some rule by taking a photo (thankfully no one noticed).

Diversity. In my suburb, we have a lot of diversity. There are people from everywhere. My husband is a mutt ~ he's part Argentine, part Dutch, part German, part Italian, part American (like it or not, honey, you are!), part Israeli. And all Jewish. Just perfect, I think. And we have friends from all of those places and then some. You never know who you're going to meet and where they're going to be from. I love it because I like to learn new things and be inspired by different cultures and ways of life. I'm ALL American with an English heart. Quite the Southern Belle. I don't have a religious cell in my body although I am extremely spiritual. I lean towards Eastern religions, if anything. Being vegetarian is one of the most important things in my life. I watch very little TV but am a voracious reader. I love to garden. I obviously don't fit in any box. And, every once in a blue moon, I find someone sort of like me.

I know diversity is not for everyone but I need it in my life. This small shrine was a sweet reminder that there are some things I like about this stereotypical suburban life.