Church

So this afternoon I went to St. Pauls Cathedral for Evensong with a friend. It was so cool. The cathedral itself is stunning, and then sitting there with the organ and choir - complete with boys choir and perfect voices creating ethereal sounds floating through the air - it just made for a relaxing trip to serenity in the midst of busy London life. Even the sermon was that much more meditative as the speaker's voice echoed through the stone to resonate with your soul, whether or not your brain was registering the logic and point of the words she spoke.

As I sat there, I realized this was the first time I'd been to church since I had moved. And as I found myself referring back to my upbringing and religious beliefs in what I think was the fourth or fifth serious discussing about faith and religion in the last few weeks, I was struck by several comments in this one. My friend Ro remarked, after I said I was raised super-religious, that I didn't come across that way. Which is awesomely refreshing. I have always been the good girl, the Christian one, the church-goer, etc. To just be ME, whatever and whoever that is, without the pre-packaged expectations and perceptions, is really freeing. And I think that's my favorite part about life here. I am free to be who I want to be, and who I really am, without the history and baggage of my life in the US. Obviously, I can't just keep escaping and re-inventing myself, but I know that has been a big factor in how much I love living here, and I think that every so often, it's a good thing to do.