personal_zeitgeist jane literally translated, "zeitgeist" (coined by german philosopher hegel in the 19th century) means "time-ghost." mostly, though, we hear it translated as "spirit of the times." hegel's concept of the zeitgeist is the explanation behind the renaissance being in italy (for instance, its location in central europe, access to traders and hence, other cultures), the enlightenment in france, england, and even america - etc. but perhaps the notion of the zeitgeist can also explain why we are drawn to certain places, that is, why we "fall in love" with places. in the same sense, we can participate in other peoples' "personal zeitgeist;" when we see someone thriving in a particular city, we can sense their energy's congruence with the city's energy. perhaps the most interesting aspect of the personal zeitgeist is how we know we are in the wrong place. for example, i know that when i visited my hometown (davis, california), i could _not_ live there. this sense of discomfort affected even my just visiting there. i had always known when i was living there that i needed to leave. in the same sense, my mother started out in michigan, and at the age of nineteen moved to california. approximately a year after i moved out (and two divorces later), my mother visited arizona with her current boyfriend, and fell in love with it. shortly thereafter, she moved there. i went to visit her a few months ago, and i can tell that's where she needs to be right now. i can see her staying there for a long time. my favorite idea associated with the concept of the personal zeitgeist is when we find our spirit in another person. have you ever heard the phrase, "(s)he just feels like home" ? my explanation for this feeling is parallel to the geographic: the congruent energy, or spirits. somewhere inside, their souls have grasped onto each other and quickly tightened, perhaps only to be loosened with time. 050302 ... ever dumbening nice. the_camera_eye but don't start talking about that stupid book you had to write that paper on. what were those two terms again—on second thought, don't remind me. 050302 ... jane (studium & punctum) (sorry) (xoxo) 050302 what's it to you? who go blather from