Thriving on movement
How migratory experience creates and sustains a curious, open, flexible and fluid mind.
Movement is at the heart of life. And not just metaphorically. When our heart stops pumping blood through our body, we die. The less we move the more immobile we get, more restricted, we deteriorate. When fruit is picked from the tree its movement, the growth, stops. Left uneaten it soon rots.
Movement transcends physicality. Assuming we allow them to, our ideas, perspectives and opinions also move, get shaped, transformed, redefined. If we only read news from our carefully curated echo chamber of sources, we can’t expand ideas to include various views. Our views stop moving only to fester on its pompous, self indulgent righteousness.
Like a tree moving the roots deeper and deeper, strengthening our beliefs may trick us into the illusion of movement. And while the tree’s movement may seem productive, it is finite, impoverished of multi directionality, bound to its roots keeping it firmly in place. Its branches and roots move but only in ways that reinforce its position and self importance.
It takes being uprooted to truly move throughout multitudes of dimensions. Rummaging through the vastness of influences, value sets and cultures is messy. It may not always bring progress or enlightenment, but it is powered by life and at least a possibility of striving, thriving, evolving. When we refuse to move our bodies and our minds stagnate, putrefy and perish.
Immigrants are the true ambassadors of movement. Whether forced to flee their homelands or motivated by the impetus for curiosity and exploration, the migratory experience starts with the physical move. Their roots pulled out of their origin and set into motion of the unknown. The South African man I interviewed, talked about movement as a core force of his life:
The plan was to study and work in the US. I didn’t want to go back to this bubble that I lived in Johannesburg. A close group of friends, doing the same stuff every day, not progressing, dead end jobs, lifestyles and addictions. I had bigger aspirations. I wanted to grow. What is my next step?, where do I go from here?, is a theme of my life.
At first, immigrants are busy navigating the fast movement of the newness initially trying to figure out how to slow it down. Settling into the new reality is never more tempting than in that phase of mad scramble for orientation.
Taking jobs, failing at endeavors, moving up, collapsing down is no doubt a challenging rollercoaster in an immigrant’s life.
Looking back though, especially compared to the places they’d come from, immigrants relish in the newfound freedom to control some of their movement in the new place:
Moving to the US has changed me for the better. I learned a lot. Now I can say that I’m a better person because I got a lot from the society here and I’m able to give back.
My efforts are being recognized if I give something of value. As opposed to in Romania where even if you are good at something you don’t have an opportunity to show it or to develop, if you don’t have the right connections to some big boss.
The rigid parameters of the way things always were are challenged by the new culture’s invigorating audacity. Suddenly, there is wiggle room for making your own rules:
When I left India women could not walk outside alone. They couldn’t go to the bank, many were not allowed to get education. The woman was only to take care of the kitchen and children. A lot of boundaries there.
When I came to the US, everything was different. I could explore. I have freedom, you can learn more things, be independent. You can do whatever you want to progress in life.
Through empowerment of the freedom to chose, create and take ownership of one’s life also come heightened perception for diversity. The newfound sensitivity to human variation gives birth to a new kind of awareness: impatience for monotony and mental restrictiveness of closing oneself off.
Instead, immigrants welcome the water-like fluidity of their newly flexible worldview enriched by openness to a range of new learnings and acceptance of new viewpoints:
You are who you are, based on your contribution, your generosity not on what ethnicity or country you were born into. Because I’m less rigid or rooted in any culture I’m like water. I can feel at home with any different community. I want to be with diverse races, talents, professions. There are a lot of things I don’t know and can learn that way.
If you’re in one group eating the same thing, talking about the same thing, doing the same thing, you cannot grow, you die. Water can flow in any crack, when you put color in it, it can change and it keeps flowing. (Indonesia)
Unlike before, there is a sense of opportunity to improvise, try things out, let things in, leave things out, let the life flow, relinquishing control to the sweet wonder of seeing what happens. Even the boundaries of what makes a home become blurred by the joy of movement:
I feel most at home when I’m going somewhere and not when being in a place. An open road. Nothing around and a big open sky. Being on the go is now a very comfortable space for me. I am able to be in one place or another but it’s the process of moving that’s unbound and full of possibilities!
You don’t have to have any specific definitions of what you’re doing, what you want to do, what’s scheduled. It’s about being in the moment of the going. It’s a space of being boundless. (Chile)
Ultimately, the tapestry of all the places and movement between them is what makes the immigrant life rewarding. It is an inspirational take on finding inner peace, freedom and exuberance filled ride into the future:
Movement is what makes me tick, this feeling of freedom, like a man of the world. The feeling I’m not bound to anyone or anything: no land, no ways of thinking. I don’t like the conclusion to anything, the finality, I like things to keep going. It’s what’s developed in me because of my life journey, I don’t think I was born with it.
And I found myself in that feeling, it’s the feeling that defines me and gives me the drive and the vision for my future. I have no fear of change. I’m not stuck, conjoined, confined, closed minded. And I’m not by any means right in everything. I’m living this life open-mindedly and I’m willing to experience, go up and down and fail. I’m enjoying it all. (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Reading through these profound inspirational transformations makes me want to create a migration simulator so everyone can feel and embrace all the facets of movement that come with a migratory experience. All its fierce, dynamic, scary, fascinating layers nourishing the life itself and evolving our humanity.
Then again, far from a futuristic gadget, the answer to nursing our life’s energy is refreshingly low tech and not exclusive to any group but universally human. Whether in the dumps or flying high, the best we can always do is just keep moving.
This post highlights a snippet of the insights that emerged from my research on the immigrant experience in the US. I spoke to women and men who immigrated to the US from 32 European, African, South American and Asian countries. My one-on-one hour long exploratory interviews dived deep into how the immigrant experience impacts one’s beliefs, value system, worldview, patriotism, sense of identity and belonging.
If you are interested in a complete study report drop me a note at bergitabugarija@gmail.com
If you are curious about what else I uncovered, here are some related posts:
Thanks for reading! As always, looking forward to you comments :)
