My wife goes back to work at the end of next week, so it is good that there are some sunny days and warm waters to enjoy, so that she feels like she has at least had some time off. The years where there are no hot days in summer are hard, because it might be two or even three years before a proper summer is felt. Obviously, if travelling it is easy to find a warm spot - but we aren't travelling any time soon.
I am wary of being disappointed with not travelling enough though, because I grew up not travelling myself and it was okay. And still today, travel far from home is definitely a privilege that not everyone has access to. I think in many ways, daily life is made harder because we are so much more aware of what we are missing out on, whereas our parents didn't have as much insight into what they didn't have. There are so many "choices" laid in front of us that seem possible, but they really aren't available.
There is always an opportunity cost to choice.
No one can have it all.
But, it is possible to enjoy what one has. I have been trying to instil into Smallsteps lately, that the people who focus on what they don't have are the ones who don't enjoy life much. Because no matter what is available, there is always something missing. And even if "everything" was available, there are so many degree variations of the same, that there is constant second guessing.
Colleagues of mine were talking about cars and arguing over which is better. The discussion was comparing Audis, BMWs and Mercedes, but no matter how much they fought for one over the other, ultimately, all are pretty much the same. Sure, there are some differences here and there, but they are all in the same class and compete with much the same offering. Had my colleagues been millionaires, they might have argued over a more expensive class, or if billionaires, maybe helicopters and planes. But the argument is the same argument, isn't it?
We each have preferences of course, but it is also likely that our real preference is out of reach for whatever reason, so we have to "settle" for something lesser. We are always settling for less than we want, but if we focus on the gap between what we want and what we have, we will always be in a place of not having.
Today we had warm weather on a beach with cool water to swim in, cold drinks, some snacks and surrounded by trees and nature. We didn't have palm trees and we weren't drinking out of coconuts, and we weren't in a five star hotel. We also weren't in a warzone, or picking through garbage for food, or living under an oppressive regime.
Do we really want everything?
Taraz
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