Am I missing the Maine experience?....In Maine (Freeport, Eagle Lake: appointed, home)

[maine4.us]

Elston, you are right in that we are all connected. Back in October I lapsed into a coma for 18 hours. I was brain dead, in fact, they had the organ procurement team on standby. Then I woke up. The doctors never found the reason. During that time I had a Near Death Experience, and I can tell you that we are all connected. More so than most can imagine. We closed on our Maine home at the end of October. I have been given some gifts from the experience, and my priorities have changed. Elston, we are not far apart. Not the living, nor the dead. Sorry, got off the thread topic a bit.

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

i am afraid that I must live in a fairy tale land. My Maine is a beautiful place that adores it's beaches and lobstermen and also it's forests. It is a place that is at a slower pace from the megalopolis's, but not so slow that it is dead. It is a place that is filled with arts, museums, food from around the world, and people from all walks of life. It is a place where terms like 'from away' and 'Volvo Line' do not exist, everybody would be just as welcome (well, until they make themselves unwelcome).

I dunno, I'm not a hippy. Really.

Can't rep you anymore! Very, very nice post K-Luv. Well said. Thank you.

[elston]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

Elston, you are right in that we are all connected. Back in October I lapsed into a coma for 18 hours. I was brain dead, in fact, they had the organ procurement team on standby. Then I woke up. The doctors never found the reason. During that time I had a Near Death Experience, and I can tell you that we are all connected. More so than most can imagine. We closed on our Maine home at the end of October. I have been given some gifts from the experience, and my priorities have changed. Elston, we are not far apart. Not the living, nor the dead. Sorry, got off the thread topic a bit.

Maine4Us,

Thank you for sharing your incredible experience and vision. I do believe that we (the total sum) are somehow mystically connected and I do believe that we are held in a love greater than we know or can understand. I won't go on (off thread) but I couldn't ignore your contribution. Thank You!

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

Elston, you are right in that we are all connected. Back in October I lapsed into a coma for 18 hours. I was brain dead, in fact, they had the organ procurement team on standby. Then I woke up. The doctors never found the reason. During that time I had a Near Death Experience, and I can tell you that we are all connected. More so than most can imagine. We closed on our Maine home at the end of October. I have been given some gifts from the experience, and my priorities have changed. Elston, we are not far apart. Not the living, nor the dead. Sorry, got off the thread topic a bit.

I'll try and not keep the off topic line here going....but I had to say thank you for sharing that. I am gladd your still with us I wonder if the experience has brought you some peace.

[maine4.us]

Thanks for all the reps. If you are interested in hearing more about my near death experience, please DM me or if there is enough interest, I would start a thread. I feel the call to Maine much stronger now...I am supposed to do something in Maine, but I don't know what.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by flycessna

I once had a friend here in the Lewiston Auburn area that used to say to me....."this is not the real Maine".
But he would often talk about his time he spent down east on the coast....and when he lived in Oxford county near the Mountains.

The "real Maine" is where you think it is. I don't think anybody can tell you.

When I tell people out of state that I'm living in mid-coast Maine, they usually get that swoony rocky-coast-and-seagulls look and accuse me of being lucky beyond their wildest dreams. I like the coast, but for me, the "real Maine" is the western mountains region. That is to say, being in the mountains is where I feel most happy and in awe of nature. It's different for everybody!

PS:

Originally Posted by flycessna

Am I spinning my wheels looking outside of Maine for that perfect place. Is that place closer than I realize?

Maybe - maybe not....you'll never know unless or until you find it. You'll either find the place that makes you feel better than you ever have, or you'll realize, like Dorothy, that it's always been in your own backyard

[futurecruiser]

I agree with a lot of the replies here. "Real Maine" is what you make it. What makes one part of Maine more "real" than another? It's a diverse state with mountains, fields, lakes, ocean, woods, rivers, cities, small towns, rural communities. Live where you like, how you like. That's what "real" Maine is.
I agree with the post that said that "my" Maine has no labels, no words meant to divide like "the volvo line", "northern mass", etc. In the words of Rodney King, "why can't we all just get along"? Why the need to divide, label some part as "better" or "more real".

I do find the people in Maine a bit friendlier than in other places I've lived, but it's not much different than Vermont, some parts of NH, Mass, etc. Your basic New England (even upstate NY) living. People up here are all about the same, who help when there's a need, but in general leave each other alone. Yes, I'm happier here than in other places I've lived but there's a lot of things that contribute to that, and a lot of it is in the mind, not in the state line. A lot of how you feel about a place is what you make of it.

[Zymer]

I've been brain-dead for years and...oh, sorry, that isn't the topic...

The Real Maine is not a single area, or a single "experience". There is something for almost everyone (sorry for you folks who like tropical islands or hard-scrabble desert, canyons and tumbleweeds, you'll have to look elsewhere for that)- sandy beaches and rocky shores, burbling brooks and placid rivers, forests and fields, bustling cities, sleepy towns and wilderness solitude, a fog-shrouded world that closes in before the end of your driveway and a panoramic vista where you can see forever, Summer's warmth and Winter's chill, the shoots and buds of Spring and the colors of Fall, lighthouses and outhouses.

Almost anything you want is here, you just have to go and look for it. If you just sit in one place wondering "Is this all there is?", then, yes, that will be all there is, for you. Maine is a variety, a cornucopia, a feast of experiences. You can get up and sample every dish on the buffet or you can remain at your table and go hungry.

[elston]

Beautifully stated; lovely sentiments and perceptions. Thank you for sharing Zymer!

I can't give you CD-F rep points but that was wonderful.

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by flycessna

I once had a friend here in the Lewiston Auburn area that used to say to me....."this is not the real Maine".

I do not think he was slammiing the LA area which I will always stand up for esp. about is getting bad rap. Nor do I think he was from the "volvo line" party.

But he would often talk about his time he spent down east on the coast....and when he lived in Oxford county near the Mountains.

Aside from Urban sprawl...are there just parts of Maine the represent what Maine really has to offer.

Am I spinning my wheels looking outside of Maine for that perfect place. Is that place closer than I realize?

What is Maine.....the way life should be....and where is the best example.

Look into your heart. That's where Maine is. As long as your heart beats, The real Maine will be there for you.

It's not so much a specific town or group of towns as much as an idea about living and how to live, that somehow, everyone shares with you.

There are plenty of little towns all through America that don't register on any map. But they can never take the place of a state full of people who all understand how special Maine is. That's because the real Maine is alive and well in their hearts.

I can go into any Sam's Club anywhere in the country and buy 500# of flour. Anywhere in the country except Maine, people in line near me will question what on earth I need so much flour for. In Maine, if anyone even notices, it would be along the lines of, "You think it'll be a long winter, eh?"
We are all on the same page.

If your friend doesn't find the real Maine in a Maine town he is in, I am afraid he will never find it. It's either in you or it isn't.