The point is, I’ve grown accustomed to the community I’ve been raised in, and you probably have to. We can apply that on a micro scale down to the neighborhood or a macro scale to the USA, or planet earth if we ever inhabit Mars or the moon, I suppose. And for most of us that life is hectic, one that measures success in how much we accomplish. Or get done in one day. I’m sure we’ve all read that before. But while I lie on the floor—don’t judge me, I know some of you are2—of my rented community college dorm room next to a fingernail clipping from the last inhabitant since it that wasn't vacuumed before I came3, I realize that, along with this being a ridiculous and possibly grammatically incorrect sentence ridden post, life is definitely, absolutely, most certainly different, while still being similar up here in Hibbing. I’m sure people still feel like they need to get check lists accomplished, but there’s just a feeling about small towns. I’ve been here 2 days and I can sense it (just like Vader can sense Ben Kenobi’s presence on the Death Star). If I’m being honest that difference freaks me out, I feel uncomfortable. If I wasn’t nervous and anxious about moving to a town where I knew no one, having time and spaced slowed down makes it worse. It forces me to live in the moment even more, think and process life. Yet differences are good, fantastic even.
An approach I take to life is thinking about what I want to teach my future kids. How can I give them a leg up? What life lived wisdom can I impart? Slowing down, thinking, processing and putting yourself in uncomfortable situations4 will almost certainly be on that list. Inspection of life, and daily Sabbaths even if they only last for a minute to reflect on how my day is going and where my focus and strength is rooted. For me, Hibbing is, in a way, a larger life Sabbath. It forces me to slow down, remove myself from my groups of friends and family. Live life in a much simpler way and examine where my priorities lay. Focus on loving myself and asking challenging, growth inducing, questions to myself.
Question I leave you with: Where are you focusing your attention, energy, and love? Is there somewhere else you should be placing it?
I challenge you to slow down and think, and examine yourself.
Hibbing moment5: Since I’m new in town I’ve been asking my patients if they have any Hibbing recommendations for activities I should do while I’m in town. One of my most talkative and fun patients looked at my clinical instructor and asked out of the side of her mouth, “what do I tell him?” We all burst out laughing and we went on to talk about the small town dynamics.
1 If I’m feeling like I have too much energy and need some drained…
2 Sometimes you just gotta lie down and type it out while listening to Tay Tay (Welcome to…Hibbing? which if that was a thing she would be much safer living alone here than NYC and Schmidt would feel much better about the situation--New Girl reference)
3 That was a pointless, but at the same time, totally necessary detail
4 Not the Michael Scott kind, the other kind that has less face twisting and pillow face covering
5 I think every blog post I will share a funny or just Hibbingy moment, whether or not the post is about Hibbing
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