For Pete's Sake, there is no right or wrong answer to where one lives. (For H. Bruce's Sake?) It's all pretty subjective.
I've been watching Househunters for a number of years, and not once when they go back to revisit the house do the owners say, "Damn. I should've bought House #1." Nope, they're always delighted with the choice.
--- The choice --- they --- already --- made ---.
So we rationalize, at least those of us who have a choice.
I think H. Bruce's mistake is that he decided to leave Bend, but then -- for whatever reason -- stayed in Bend, and once the rationalization was stripped away all he could do was find fault.
Meanwhile, traveling.
I think where one travels and how long is also a choice where there is neither right or wrong. There are people who will tell you have to travel, just like there are people who will tell you how to eat, how to dress, how to drink wine.
But -- not-- traveling is also an option. Non-adventurous travel is an option.
I was thinking the other day about how I've sort of eased into the normal. I've always loved routine. I'm a pretty steady guy. (Witness the blog I've written everyday for 5.5 years; the wife I've had for 29 years, the business I've owned for 28 years, the hometown I came back to.)
Why is that acceptable to me? To "ease into the normal?" Because if you've ever spent a significant amount of your life feeling like the "other" the "outcast" it's a nice place to be. I feel like I could go off-center pretty quickly, go off the rails. I'm protective of myself.
But I think this gives me a platform to be adventurous in the creative parts of my life. To take business risks (this is the part of me that has always been more thrill-seeking) , to garden, and after a number of years trying to create my stable platform, to continually write.
Meanwhile, I have a stack of Bulletin newspapers 8 inches high to catch up to...
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12 comments:
Follow your bliss...
Seeking comfort and contentment, is not some kind of sell-out although there's always somebody willing to tell you it is. As if by declining to be in a constant state of turmoil and wanting something you ain't got means you're not really living.
"Rationalization" has negative connotations, but being able to look at things and say, "you know, it ain't so bad" is good for your mental health.
As for H. Bruce, I don't understand why someone would commit themselves to a legacy as "the guy who bitches constantly about the weather," but... maybe his bliss lies in the bitching.
Jim
Haven't you ever wondered why they never fail to be able to purchase the selected house on house hunters.
If you haven't heard one of the requirements to be on house hunters is that you have to have already closed on the selected house. Then for shooting they find two other houses to be included, but the search is totally faked.
So they not only stick with their selection, but the selection was made long before they ever saw the other houses.
I've heard some other things about the show that kind of ruined it for me, but I didn't want to ruin it for anyone else.
The point still stands that they're always tickled pink by the house they've already bought.
"I think H. Bruce's mistake is that he decided to leave Bend, but then -- for whatever reason -- stayed in Bend"
You know damn well what the reason is; I've explained it about 500 times.
"Meanwhile, I have a stack of Bulletin newspapers 8 inches high to catch up to..."
You haven't missed anything, trust me.
"The point still stands that they're always tickled pink by the house they've already bought."
Two points:
1. People are reluctant to admit a mistake to themselves, much less to a TV audience.
2. Regrets often take a while to materialize.
I think it's more a case of me deciding to move to Bend and then, once the rationalization for doing so ("small-town lifestyle" etc.) was gone, becoming disgusted. The first 15 years or so I really enjoyed living here.
"As for H. Bruce, I don't understand why someone would commit themselves to a legacy as "the guy who bitches constantly about the weather," but... maybe his bliss lies in the bitching."
Not bliss, but venting about it does provide some relief.
It sounded better than "Trapped! Trapped like a rat!"
Reality shows are FAKED????
Yeah, but knowing there is a trick and knowing what the actual trick is, are two different things. Otherwise, magicians wouldn't have a job.
I used to watch that game show where three contestants would come out and say the same name:
"MY name is Duncan McGeary."
"My NAME is Duncan McGeary."
"My name IS Duncan McGeary."
One day I was watching it, and I noticed that at least one of the contestants, when they said their name, would trail off at the end.
Sometimes really noticeably, sometimes just slightly, and we'd argue over which contestant had done it the most. I started getting the right answer time after time, and unfortunately, I let the cat out of the bag.
So then my family started joining me in figuring out who it was, not based on any content, but strictly on how they said their name.
Where it was noticeable -- it was ALWAYS the real guy. Even when we were trying to judge a couple of similar drop-offs, we were almost always right.
Eventually, we stopped watching the show, because it was no longer challenging. It was a parlor show.
But my really big mistake was living in Northern California for seven years. The climate there spoils you for everyplace else.
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