Re-rockin’ the 902: Falling in love with a place

Every traveler knows how it feels. When you fall in love with a place, you come to appreciate it on so many levels. The natural beauty, the smells, the sounds, the smiles. You’ve connected with the locals, you’ve made friends that will remain close to your heart. – Mitchell Kanashkevich

Everyone, if they’re lucky, has known the feeling of falling in love. And you can fall in love with a place as with a person.

When you fall in love with a person, you think about her all the time. (Every four-and-a-half seconds. I’ve timed it.) She’s all you talk about with your friends.  Everything about her is appealing, engaging, captivating. Everything about her fills you with delight. Just thinking about being with her makes your heart beat faster. Reality is transformed by your time with her: you never again feel the same.

It’s sad saying goodbye. You don’t know if it’s a “goodbye forever,” or a “see you again some time.” You hope it’s the latter. But you never know. – Mitchell Kanashkevich

From the moment you leave her, all you can think about is when you’ll get to be with her again. You count the days.

You like the person you are when you’re with her. You’re happier, more confident, more carefree. You enjoy life when you’re together with her. You think about making a future with her. You plan on it.

If you’ve had your share of travels and good byes, you understand that places and people change. Nothing in life is set, there are no guarantees. – Mitchell Kanashkevich

And in the back of your mind you know infatuations don’t last. You know you’ll never be more attracted to her than you are right now.  You know, eventually, she will show something that will annoy or vex you. You know all these things. Yet, you also believe that there’s nothing you can discover or learn about her that will change your feelings.

You can fall in love with a place as with a person. Indeed, in many ways it’s easier on your heart to fall in love with a place. The place will not mislead you, will not reject you, but will show you all the truth of all that it is if you are unafraid to look and discover.

When you fall in love with a place you want to be part of it, to return to it again and again, to call it your home. When you fall in love with a place, it is hard to leave it. You close your eyes and remember it long after you have left.

There’s really nothing else quite like it. When you fall in love with a place it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, never to be repeated, and it stays with you forever.