So, one may wonder what exactly is meant by this suggestion that I have an Alabama heart and Indiana soul. When I shared this concept with my mother, she certainly requested an explanation. And by the time I was done explaining, there were likely more questions than answers in her mind. As such, I'll attempt to be clearer in my written description of this elusive concept. Hopefully even mama will get me once my definition is completed herein.
The heart is a physical part of the body. When working correctly, it pumps lifegiving blood through veins and arteries. Without one, you cannot live. It is essential to your existence. But while this description of the heart impacts my overall definition, it is only part of the platform from which I dive into the characterization of my Alabama heart. From a less literal perspective, the heart is often linked to the concept of love. While from a Christian perspective I certainly believe it is the soul that guides our feelings and expressions of love, to define my split heart and soul accurately, I must somewhat suspend that truth from this definition. Thus, heart = love.
I love Alabama. I love the people there. And as I grew up, the people of this place were essential to my existence. They made me who I am today. I have Alabama blood. I bleed Crimson. Alabama is at my core. I think like a Southerner. I act like a Southerner. I have an accent that reveals my heritage as a Southerner. I will always be a Southerner at heart. Thus, my Alabama heart is a very real, and almost physical, part of who I am. As long as I live, Alabama will be part of my makeup.
And then, there's my soul.
The soul is not as simple to explain. It cannot actually be found. You could look all throughout the body and never find the soul. Brains, heart, lymph nodes. But no soul. And yet, it is there. It gives us desires. Dreams. Yearnings. A connection to the people and places around us. It gives us goals. It tells us who we want and need to be. It makes us feel good or bad when we are doing things right or wrong. It takes us places. And mine keeps drawing me to Indiana.
As much as I love Alabama, having been born and reared there, my soul was born in northern Indiana. And for that reason, although displaced from my home and family, I feel at peace in Indiana. Although a transplant, an alien here, Indiana and I make sense together. We have an undeniable connection that cannot totally be explained. We get each other. In a way, we're soul mates. And so, it is from this place that I write today.
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