Bloom Where You're Planted

Topic of the day.....satisfaction with where you live.  :)

Something I've noticed about people is that you always want what you don't have.  I am definitely one of those people, as are the majority of the human race.  Whenever we go on vacation, and talk to people who live and work in the place we are vacationing, they are always saying how they dream and wish about living somewhere else.  And I sit there looking at them like they are INSANE because I go to where they live for a VACATION.

Example.  Last year, my family went on vacation to Sanibel Island, off the coast of FL.  BEAUTIFUL island, AMAZING place.  I would give ANYTHING to live there, and would move there in a heartbeat.  We were talking to a boy who worked in one of the stores we went to, and my dad was just making small talk with him, asking him how he liked living on the island.  The guy confessed that he didn't like it and was very sick of living in such a small place.  He told us that he wanted to go to college up in Jacksonville (I think) and live in the city.  I'm like, "DUDE!!! SERIOUSLY!?!!  The beach is literally across the street!! This place is EPIC, it has great food, nice people, an awesome atmosphere and it's just so beautiful!! Why would you want to give this up to go live in the CITY of all places??? NO NO NO NO!"

Another example.  A few weeks ago, we went to northern FL to visit a big antique show (and meet Savanna's family!!!)  Just minutes before seeing Savanna for the first time, my dad, sister and I walked from our hotel to the small Hess gas station nearby, to buy some snacks and drinks for our hotel room.  We were talking to the cashier, a nice young girl, and she was just asking us where we were from, and if we were enjoying our stay so far at the hotel across the street.  We politely told her where we were from and how much we were loving the weather, scenery and atmosphere of the city we were in.  She told us that she was tired of it and wanted to move to Orlando, where she used to live.  She said it was "too in the sticks" and that she craved city life. Again, I was thinking, "WHAT?? How can you NOT like this??? The weather is beautiful, the people are so nice, the nature is amazing, and you want to go to the CITY??? WHAT?? WHY???"

Once returning from both those vacations (and many others), I always find myself on the other side of that equation.  I always dream about leaving where I live in the city to move to someplace far off, where you can own land and animals and just have SPACE.  I find myself dreaming about living in a pretty little house on the beach, having a desk set up by a window overlooking the ocean, and doing all my writing/editing from there.  I always find myself wishing and praying that by some miracle we would be able to get up and move, buy some land and start a farm, or enjoy some peace and quiet in a tiny community where everyone knows each other and everyone is nice to one another.

But then I remember what my mother always tells me in situations like this.....God put us where he did for a reason.  You never know who you're going to touch by a small action you make in your community.  Sometimes I hate where I live...I can find tons of faults.  There's too much crime, too many annoying/rude kids on our street (we live near two public schools...elementary and middle), there's too much traffic, too many accidents, the stores are too busy, the people are rude, no one speaks english.....
But I forget how awesome my city is.  My dad works for our city, and I know a lot of the people who make our city work and run.  I know the City Manager, many commissioners, the HR Director (My Daddy! ;D), people in Marketing, the Fire Chief, many fire-fighters, several police-people, people in finance, aquatics, community relations, the lady who runs the help desk, the people who work in the mailroom, and many more!!!  The ladies in my dad's office are like a second family to me and my sister, and many others in the city are such wonderful people, who are blessings to us all, and many don't even realize what they do to make our city what it is!

We have fabulous fire-fighters and police-people for crime and accidents, which happen ANYWHERE anyway.  I know people who work at our local Publix, Wal-Mart, CVS, 7-11 and more.  They are all good people too.  I am proud of my city...of my COMMUNITY, even though it sometimes makes me frustrated.  Of course I dream of living somewhere else....we all do.

Now I shall pull a Yoda quote to prove my point...
"Many years, this one I have watched.  As he looked away, to the future, never his mind on where he was.  What he was doing!"
If you don't speak Star Wars....essentially that means that Yoda watched as Luke spent his whole childhood growing up wishing he were somewhere else, and not embracing where he was when he was there.  Don't do that.  Don't spend your life wishing you were someone else, living somewhere else, or doing something else.  Be yourself, and enjoy life.  Enjoy the here and now, and embrace your city/town/community.  Even if your closest neighbor is five miles away, or you only see your friends once a week.  Make the connections, and don't spend your entire life wishing you were somewhere else.

This has been on my heart lately, because I have been struggling with this.  After coming home from our latest trip to north FL, I wanted to move there SO BAD.  I still do.  And before you ask, no it's not just because Savanna lives up there....though that does help.  ;)  I loved the atmosphere, the people, the stores, the food, the "take it easy" and "slow down" sort of attitude it had.  I didn't feel rushed, I didn't feel like I was moving at superspeed, I felt at peace and relaxed.  As soon as we got home though, I was rushing off to orchestra, and the next day I did school all day, took my sister to piano, did more school, took two tests, and got sick.  I felt like everything that I loved so much while on vacation disappeared when I returned home, and I looked for anything and everything to blame all that emotion on.  I was mad at our city, and how crowded and busy it was, I was mad at the crime, for waking me up at 3am with sirens, and at all the annoying drivers on the roads for making my mom and dad tense in the car over traffic.  Everything went back to normal.....no one (mainly my mom) was as easy going and carefree as we were when we were on vacation, and I was utterly disappointed in that.

Now though, two weeks being home, I am realizing that when the sirens wake me up at 3am, that means that our amazing men and women who work every day to save lives and protect us, are just doing their jobs.  And the annoying drivers will eventually get what's coming to them, and I pray for the safety of others, who DO obey the rules of the road.  When our city is crowded and busy, it is good economically and promotes good commerce for us.  Sometimes we have to change our perspective and see that maybe things aren't so bad after all.

I hope you enjoyed another "inspirational" by me. ;)  More of these to come soon.