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A walk back to her heart’s home |
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Written by Robin Matteri | The Walkabout
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Friday, 20 June 2008 |
“Walkabout” is a term coined by the Australian Aborigines. It was a reference to a spiritual journey. Many Aborigines sought spiritual teachings in the landscape of their land and home as a way of finding a “sacred belongingness.”
My dad, who thought he had pioneered the term, used it to round up his buddies in an attempt to walk “about” the town looking for fun.
Today, my family and I use the term as a reference to walking around the town in search of people, places and things that are important to us as community members.
 Robin Matteri
After spending some time in Patterson, my eagerness to explore the outside world took over, and I parted ways from the community and didn’t return until after his death.
I chose a walkabout that led me straight back to the landscape where I had originated.
So, I began a journey that was very simple. I walked every morning and most afternoons, eager to meet the community, eager to talk to anyone who would listen and eager to embrace and be embraced. It became a ritual of getting to know the people, the places and landscape of the town in an attempt to feel a sense of belonging.
As it turned out, the city I had despised a decade earlier would come to surprise me in many ways.
As I walked, I began to make peace. Peace with my dad, peace with the community and peace with the people. And with peace came confidence, and with confidence came ambition, and with ambition came life and excitement. The overall pleasantness of the community not only surprised me, but also gave me hope.
Family and the pursuit of togetherness and belongingness are essential aspects of life to those who reside here. While there are times I feel like an outsider and wonder how I ended up here, I know that as a mother I have found no better place to raise my children.
But — where’s all the fun? I’ve driven around several times looking for something to do after 7 p.m., only to be discouraged by empty streets and quietness. Where are all the people who have so tirelessly built this city on love and home?
Let’s liven up the joint, shake things up, so to speak, and remember that love, life and family become instrumental in the formation of our children’s perception of the world.
May we all enjoy a walkabout that leads us home.
Random encounters on the walkabout
- Imet Luz in line at Save Mart Supermarkets today. She was proudly displaying her weight belt that she used to tone and tighten on her daily walks. We quickly exchanged numbers and have vowed to become walking partners. How exciting.
- And Jessie, the cute little hippie chick with flowers in her hair and a bass on her back. She was proudly walking about the city she’s called home for five years with her puppy on a leash and a pep in her step. I would have asked to have a longer chat with her, but I had to hurry home to Uncle Jack’s dinner. Maybe next time.
Walkabout, a community column by local resident Robin Matteri, is a documentation of healing, humor and Matteri’s perspectives on the people, places and things of Patterson.
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