The Search is Over: The Art of Just Being.

People love to complain about the place they are in.

No matter where I go there are people where I am who want to be some where else.

I don’t get it.

I especially don’t get it when we’re in some place like Boulder, with its spectacular mountains, clean crisp air and beautiful people. I mean, really, how often are you going to be able to go to a city where everyone is fit, and more often then not intelligent?

So, why do we do this?

I understand that this community is not perfect, but the three main complaints I hear are:

1) There are only white people here.

2) There aren't enough restaurants open late enough.

3) The art scene sucks.

Those really aren't that bad of things. All of those things could easily be improved upon. It's not like some cities with their massive poverty, hunger, disease, pollution. . .

All places can be improved upon, no place is truly paradise.

But, perhaps it could be if we all changed our perceptions of what paradise is supposed to be like.

I think not liking where we are has more to do with our conceptions of time. We’re brought up to think that we must constantly be achieving, that we must progress on a daily basis, that we must always have a project, always have a goal. This creates the idea that where we are physically isn’t good enough, because nothing can ever be good enough. There will always be something better out there. Somewhere better to be.

Personally, I don’t want to go through life always looking and yearning to be elsewhere. Sure I want to travel; but when I travel I don’t want to be thinking about the next place I get to travel to. I want to enjoy the scenery for what it is and the people for who they are.

I can admit that I didn’t enjoy my time and place in Chicago as much as I could have. I really should have just accepted all the negative aspects for what they were, made the best of them, and truly loved what I was surrounded with.

.

But all I can do is improve upon that now. "Be" where I am. And not constantly think about where I'm going and how it's going to be better once I get there.

To be. Not to be some place else.