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| Thu, 10-13-2005 - 10:12am |
who'd be willing to listen and offer advice? KINDLY! ;)
This morning my drive in was one of complete perplexity. I'm 29 years old... single... healthy... pretty sane :p and I feel TOTALLY... normal! I get up and drive in to work with all the other white collars... sit here in the cube for 8 hours a day... day after day after day... and a song comes on the radio about Paris and before the song starts they are talking in French as though you're about to depart the plane and enter this amazing city and I'm sitting there imagining what it'd be like to be traveling to Paris... traveling ANYWHERE, do ANYTHING other than what I was doing - sitting in traffic - headed to my NORMAL job.
Some people are okay with and seem to really desire a normal life. And while the idea of settling down, marrying, gaining a mortgage and a few nibbin's is somewhat appealing... it's not happening to me at the moment and so I dream of a life a whole hell-of-alot more exciting than the one I'm living! I'm sure most of us do though... we ALL think we should be the exception to the average - normal rule... right?
But... how does one break out of this NORMAL life? Is it all a chance of luck? Would it require me to go back to school and get a piece of paper? Would it require me to have exuberant amounts of money? How do I go about meeting the amazing man I have in my head that will love me like I'm the Mona Lisa and travel with me to amazing places? Is it all a fairy tale - that FEW actual get to live and those of us that just get to dream about it - have to somehow come to terms with the fact we'll NEVER live it?
I drive by people on my way to work and notice one smoking his brains out... another woman has a wireless phone earpiece in her ear... people irritate me with there ignorance and normalcy. But there I sit... one car away from them! It's NOT that I'm better than them... it's that I'm in the same boat and don't want to be!
I guess there comes a point where we all just have to come to terms with living the NORMAL life (if it's not something we crave - that is). Right?

You're right- I guess we all have to, or have already, come to terms with living our NORMAL lives.
But I guess I'm still a bit of a romantic or whatnot, but I'd like to think that despite outside appearances, everyone's life is somehow exciting or unique. I still think that despite my regular desk job and desire to meet someone and "settle down", I'm still a unique person with a lot of great things in my life. I don't think we have to settle for a dull life just because we're one of the many scurrying around like ants, living out our somewhat menial and simple lives. I think in every day there's something magical or wonderful to be seen or experienced. Heck, even if I moved to Paris, I'm sure after awhile I'd start feeling exactly the same- used to everything, the same as everyone.
In fact, your life may seem pretty exciting and cultured to someone else. We live in such a spoiled part of the world- all this food, drinkable water, roofs over our head every night. Maybe that's "normal" for us, but for those without it's pretty extravagant and worldly. Maybe a better trip, instead of Paris, would be to Pakistan or India where 20,000+ people have died and millions are just wanting a glass of water? After seeing something like that, the commute to work and sitting in front of a computer would seem extremely well-off!
Anyway, just thinking there. Back to the less depressing stuff, I think our lives are how we view them and making the most of what we have without taking things for granted. And finding those little things that bring excitement into our lives without having to leave the city/town we're in.
HOpe I didn't ramble too much, you just got me thinking and I just ended up writing away up there! :)
I don't think you ever HAVE to settle for less than you want. Really, in the U.S., you're guaranteed the pursuit of happiness so as long as you're being realistic, there's really nothing stopping you. Sure, it is unlikely that you'll ever run a 4 minute mile, dunk a basketball like Michael Jordan or disprove scientific theory, but as long as you really want something, it can be done.
I have a friend that wanted to be an acrobat. She had a little gymnastics background but other than that, I had no idea how she was going to do this. Well, a few years, research, major hard work and thousands of hours of training later, she now performs with Cirque de Soleil and is really living her dream.
I guess my point is, we never have to settle. It may just sometimes seem like we do because we don't want to give up certain parts of our lives in order to achieve other things. I'd like to backpack the world, but I don't want to quit my job, sell my house, use all my savings and give away my dog in order to do it. So, I have to make other "dreams" come true instead.
Not sure if this sounds logical to you, but it's my point of view.
I swear it must be this town, because I've been feeling the same exact way.