I Couchsurfed a week in Fairhope, AL. My host, as all of them seem to be lately, was interesting. Not in the interesting way you hope people to be. He talked over me. Constantly. I despise that. But, I resigned myself to listen, and to learn something from the experience. That appears to be my innate mantra as of late. No matter who I talk to, or listen to in this situation, I gather experiences about others and myself. My ability to let go of control and question my perceptions while others tug as tight as they can on an idea, imposing their concepts and beliefs without listening to others keeps replaying itself. Never allowing themselves the opportunity to hear an others view of the world, limiting themselves and their experiences into their tiny perception of reality seems opposite of the Couchsurfing mission. When the idea is to share opinions and experiences to open ourselves to other possible interpretations, not limiting ourselves through our own interpretation of our experiences.
Mobile Bay, Alabama
He has a nice home a half a block up from the Mobile Bay. It's charming, as one of the remaining original homes although updated and remodeled. He was knowledgeable in several fields, somewhat competent as a host, a singer and musician, and a sailor. He single handed sailed to Belize. I stayed parked in his driveway for 7 days, 5 of which he was working out of state. The time alone was not as recharging as I had hoped it to be although it allowed me to make some realizations, which in turn, came about as recharging.
I think it's great that you look toward every experience as one that can teach. I try to do that, too...thinking that if I'm not gaining what I hoped perhaps I had hoped for the wrong thing in the first place. ;) Believe it or not, I do tend to find that there are experiences other than those I anticipated that end up having value. Imagine that.
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