For love of San Francisco

So, it's no lie that I am a bit homesick. Homesick in paradise. Missing dear friends and family I probably realized not near as dear as I do now. Missing the familiar places of home. And the fantastic truth is that this is a nice feeling. I love where I'm at, and I can't wait to be home either.

Still not sure for how long I'll end up in San Francisco after I get back, I feel nostalgic for that foggy place. I am reminded of it a bit when I read a book a good friend recently gave to me. The subject of today's brief blog. I'm just gonna excerpt it and change the name of the city for the reader's sake-

If we think what is really best for San Francisco we shall find the thread of thought leads to the throne or the mystic and the arbitrary. It is not enough for a man to disapprove of San Francisco : in that case he will merely cut his throat or move to LA. Nor, certainly, is it enough for a man to approve of San Francisco, for it will remain San Francisco, which would be awful (somewhat debatable in my chosen city, but considering all the shortcomings of San Francisco one could agree it too should not only remain as it is). The only way out of it seems to be for somebody to love San Francisco: to love it with a transcendental tie and without any earthly reason. If there arose a man who loved San Francisco, then San Francisco would rise into ivory towers and golden pinnacles; San Francisco would attire herself as a woman does when she is loved. ... If men loved San Francisco as mothers love children, arbitrarily, because it is theirs, San Francisco in a year or two might be fairer than Florence (!!!). G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

This charge is awesome. We should love something not because it is good but because we ought and loving it makes it more lovely. I am inspired by this idea.

Bali is pretty lovable in many respects. I often find people who are here to escape the lack of love they have for their home. Not my reason for being here. Today I think fondly of all that is home.