The things they leave behind.

  When people leave a community they leave things behind. Stuff that didn't fit into suitcases, weren't needed anymore, didn't feel right to take or were just forgotten. And as you move around this place you see pieces of someone else's previous life: a part of their life when they were here, a bit of them left for you to see. There are pieces of clothing that have been passed through generations of us volunteers, that share the story through the years. I like that part of community, the part where people leave things behind and let you have some part of them when they move on. The part where you get to talk about them to the new people, tell the story of what they brought with them, the things that they taught you or how they impacted this place. I like the mugs I inherit, the clothes that tell a story and I like been given cats to look after....I like that I get to continue a bit of someone else's story. Through the stuff they leave behind, the things that remind me of them and their part in my life. And the fact that they moved on to incredible new adventures. R/