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| Nice of him to pose for me :) |
As I traversed the streets of Toronto and the Daniels signage blatantly bawled my name, I had a profound realization: I don't love where I live.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a reflection on Los Angeles (so die-hard Angelenos, don't get all riled up). Los Angeles is a beautiful city for the most part. There is nothing wrong with it. There is just something wrong with me in L.A. I have no spunk, no excitement, no free spiritedness when I am "home." I don't party with random strangers I can't communicate with. I don't try unfamiliar fruits from unfamiliar trees in the middle of the jungle. I don't scale imposing mountain peaks at exceedingly high altitudes–okay, maybe I don't do that anywhere, but that's beside the point. Maybe I'd consider it if I was somewhere else. Wanderlust is a funny thing that way, it can really take over your life, make you do things you've never done and go places you've never been. I cannot love this place with all my heart because there is so much more in the world to love, and I want to go love it.
I want my return flights to land in a place that excites me as much as the one I have just departed from. I want every day, or at least most days, to be filled with the adventure that travel and new experiences bring. I want to be free and fun and happy all the time. I want to love where I live. And although this city where my stuff and my family are will by some definition remain "home" for the time, I don't always have to live here.
Conclusion: You must love where you live and be your best self in that place. And if you can't, then live everywhere; wander this land and find "home" wherever you choose to leave your heart.
4 comments:
Great post!
I understand where you're going. The thought of not being well at home and constantly thinking of better places is daunting, I know. But sometimes when you think hard enough, you can find a dozen silly reasons to stay where you are, excluding comfort. Sometimes it's not obvious at first, but it's when you can't have it anymore you realize it's so important to you.
Although I guess I should shut up - I live in Montreal but it's really London I have in mind talk about things I couldn't fully live without. *sighs*
Thanks! You are right, you can always find reasons to stay at home...if you want to find them ;) And yes, don't we always miss things once we realize they are gone?! Ha ha, we love travel too much to be content with only one place!
Love this post as I can TOTALLY relate! I lived in Auckland for 16 months and every time I "came home" I would get so happy and I never feel that for LA.
Also about wondering, since I grew up in LA, I only know what locals do. I learned more about my city from the tourists who passed through on my travels then I do by actually living here!
Thank you! I think it is really time to move on when you feel that way coming home! Auckland must have been great! Funny how that works...as locals we hardly ever see a thing in our own city! Sad
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