Anywhere I lay my hat...

"Distant Drumming"
Annemie Odendaal - Charcoal

Will you die for your country?

I always believed that you can only know someone truly, when you have travelled with them. When you are not in your normal surroundings, you might act differently. Values change and gets challenged, the anonymity gives you more freedom, you get tired and fatigued and that can also alter how you cope with the constant change. 

Do you go about making choices the same way you would in your home life? This all contributes to you getting to know yourself better. Maybe that is why some people are scared of travelling or moving.

I am a world traveller. I can feel at home anywhere I choose to go. I enjoy every second, good or bad, every new experience, every time I have to make a decision I never made before, every time I see how I have changed or grown. I therefore classify myself as a world citizen. Cosmopolitan if you will. I will not be bound by one country.

I love the beautiful country I live in, but will exchange it in a heartbeat for another place if  I have to. (And by have to, I mean when it becomes intolerable to live in your country.) I am not patriotic, and will not feel a sense of loss if I had to start over elsewhere. My sense of belonging lies in my heart. A country is only a country. It is us, with our politics and prejudices, that makes it pleasant or not. 

People get fooled into thinking they fight for their country, when they are actually fighting for someone else's idea. Long after that idea is destroyed, the land will still be there. I will choose where I live, where I raise a family and where I feel safest. I will not be bound by idealistic views of corrupt politicians. I can feel at home anywhere I lay my hat.

Like this beautiful song says: 
And you wonder will I leave her*? 
She is the constant, we who don't care.  
Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart. 
My land's only borders lie around my heart.

* my country

Song: Anthem from Chess.