Linus carries his blanket around with him everywhere he goes. Most of us probably remembering doing something similar when we were small.
When I came to Guatemala the first time, I brought a teddy bear, and it worked well for a while...but I now have a policy against taking any kind of stuffed animals with me overseas. I won't go into the details of that story now--just let it suffice to say it wasn't pretty and I don't want to see it happen again.
So teddy bears are no longer an option.
So this time I decided to bring a book on ancient Greek. My reasoning? Learning Greek is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I actually bought this book several years ago as a safeguard when it looked like I might be facing a difficult situation that would put some lonely time on my hands. I ended up not needing it, and the book gathered dust on the bookshelf until I came home this last Christmas. Then as I thought of the challenges of being in Guatemala, I decided to dust the book off and use it for that purpose again.
This way, should life get lonely or difficult, at least I'll learn Greek.
And if life goes well, then I'll bring the book back in my suitcase, virtually untouched, knowing other things more important took its place.
It's not that learning Greek would truly make life that much easier, not any more than Linus's blanket can protect him from harm, but it does bring comfort--in remembering that I have dreams away from here, lifting me out, temporarily, from the present moment. And sometimes that distance is needed to gain a little perspective.
A good security blanket, if I do say so myself. :-) What's yours?
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