The rain patters outside my window. It’s the rainy season here and I’m beginning to see why. I love the rain, but especially if it can be enjoyed from my window instead of walking under it. [unless I'm running and then that's a whole other story] So it is from my bay window in the bay area of San Francisco I type this to you. A woman with a small, sweater-ed dog walks by three floors below and seems to be in no hurry to get anywhere in particular. A blind man with his candy cane color pole feels his way along the side of the coffee shop and follows his nose inside towards the flavored goodness. The constant stream of cars glide along the wet pavement and create the backbone of sound to the city’s daily soundtrack and a soothing noise as I try to summarize my thoughts.

Last year, I wrote this letter from the stillness of the Himalayas in India… and now I begin 2008 in the bustling city of San Francisco. Between the beginning of 2007 and it’s ending, I’ve lived in four places and with seventeen people. I have never had a year of more extremes and to say I’m ready for a year of consistency and stability would be an understatement…but then again, what fun would that be?!

Somewhere in between exploring in Europe,  ’starting over’ in Wichita,  a year long adventure in India, and ‘beginning again’ in San Francisco, I’ve realized I’m a wanderer. I have also realized that not all who wander are lost. Although I hate the helplessness I often feel with the changes, I love the genuine faith it grows. Despite my need for control in uncontrollable situations, I’m learning to trust in ways of depth I never thought possible. And though no person I encounter is ever the same, I discover again and again we’re all bound together in our search for truth and realness, of belonging and love.

jsornson [at] gmail.com