I absolutely love to travel. I love experiencing new places, new people, and seeing new life all around. The worst part about traveling is coming home. Once you get home, you look around & see all the things that are missing in your life. You realize that there are other places that offer a life for you...perhaps a life you were too afraid to pursue because you weren't aware it was available to you.
Maybe you never realized that the past few years you spent meeting different people in your line of work has somehow led to a network of job opportunities in a place you swore you would never live near again. Maybe you grew up without even realizing it and furthermore realized that you are finally ready to make a life for yourself elsewhere. Those little voices in your head are picking sides...one playing devil's advocate and the other encouraging you to follow your instinct. What's a gal to do? Especially when she knows she always follows her heart and rarely listens to her head, particularly in life changing decisions. Sure, she might crash & burn but at least she went forward with all her heart when making her decision. Is there an age when this becomes the wrong thing to do? Is there ever a reason to stay somewhere & be content when perhaps there is somewhere else that will help you to reach your potential? Am I a city girl at heart? Is it possible for a southern belle to find happiness in a big city while maintaining those country roots?
I find myself with a case of wanderlust (big surprise, right?) and I know that I won't be able to ignore this. My wheels inside my head have started to spin & I won't be able to talk myself out of this one. In the immortal words of the Doors, "The time to hesitate is through..."
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Second star to the right, straight on till morning...
...that's how you get to Neverland. Also known as my life. At 26, I look around and see people my age getting married, buying houses, and looking for jobs that offer benefits. They're doing all those grown-up things you're supposed to do as you get older. But who made those rules? Who said that to live a happy life I need to buy my own house and trade in my monthly rental fee for a mortgage? Who said I need to find some man to marry when the divorce rate of our generation is 50%? Who said I need to get a career and work 40 hours a week at a regular 9-5 job? I think I'd rather stay in Neverland with my own set of Lost Boys, pirates, and fairies. I can't complain about my life when I have succeeded in surrounding myself with people who would most certainly be my happy thought if Peter Pan sprinkled fairy dust on my head.
With no houses to buy in Neverland, you find yourself living it up in your own tree house, or perhaps your own pirate ship. Even Captain Hook wasn't paying a mortgage for the Jolly Roger. When you're looking for a mate, your fairy friends are quick to help you be picky about your choice and will help test your potential mate to see if they are worthy. Your job in Neverland consists of helping the tourists see the sights of your lovely land, like Pixie Hollow and the Redskins villiage. Everything is just so darn easy for a Neverlander. Or is it?
There are of course drawbacks to living in Neverland. Those "Lost Boys" are just that...lost. It causes a dilemma if you are a mermaid looking for someone to share your rock with in Mermaid Lagoon. Or if you're an indian princess like Tiger Lily who likes the all-time bad boy Peter Pan, you find yourself always on the edges of being a priority to the leader of the pack. Or maybe you're like Tinkerbell, the fairy in love with her best friend, but she just doesn't seem to measure up to his height. Most of all, it can just get downright lonely in Neverland. While the Redskins are fighting the pirates and the Lost Boys are making mischief with the fairies, you're just a mermaid on a rock flopping your tail waiting for Peter Pan to notice that your rock is big enough for two. Of course you'd be attracted to the Pan. Peter is the smartest of all the Neverlanders because he somehow figured out how to visit the real world but retreat back to Neverland once he tires of adult life.
Are we all holding the map to Neverland, but refusing to use it? Why is it that some people reach a certain age and forget their happy thoughts? I don't think I'm so crazy to not want to grow up & not remember how to live a carefree life. But I do wonder sometimes if I'm just a Lost Girl not realizing that it's time to grow up. Oh, well. For now, I think I'll take some of that fairy dust and fly away to Baltimore for the weekend. ;)
"So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!" - from "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie
~LDW
With no houses to buy in Neverland, you find yourself living it up in your own tree house, or perhaps your own pirate ship. Even Captain Hook wasn't paying a mortgage for the Jolly Roger. When you're looking for a mate, your fairy friends are quick to help you be picky about your choice and will help test your potential mate to see if they are worthy. Your job in Neverland consists of helping the tourists see the sights of your lovely land, like Pixie Hollow and the Redskins villiage. Everything is just so darn easy for a Neverlander. Or is it?
There are of course drawbacks to living in Neverland. Those "Lost Boys" are just that...lost. It causes a dilemma if you are a mermaid looking for someone to share your rock with in Mermaid Lagoon. Or if you're an indian princess like Tiger Lily who likes the all-time bad boy Peter Pan, you find yourself always on the edges of being a priority to the leader of the pack. Or maybe you're like Tinkerbell, the fairy in love with her best friend, but she just doesn't seem to measure up to his height. Most of all, it can just get downright lonely in Neverland. While the Redskins are fighting the pirates and the Lost Boys are making mischief with the fairies, you're just a mermaid on a rock flopping your tail waiting for Peter Pan to notice that your rock is big enough for two. Of course you'd be attracted to the Pan. Peter is the smartest of all the Neverlanders because he somehow figured out how to visit the real world but retreat back to Neverland once he tires of adult life.
Are we all holding the map to Neverland, but refusing to use it? Why is it that some people reach a certain age and forget their happy thoughts? I don't think I'm so crazy to not want to grow up & not remember how to live a carefree life. But I do wonder sometimes if I'm just a Lost Girl not realizing that it's time to grow up. Oh, well. For now, I think I'll take some of that fairy dust and fly away to Baltimore for the weekend. ;)
"So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!" - from "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie
~LDW
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Good Girls Never Tell...
Temptation (n.): the desire to have or do something you should avoid; enticement
The fact that even God’s first creatures Adam and Eve couldn’t avoid it says a lot about the human compulsion to do things you know you shouldn’t. At the core of every temptation, there is the desire to feel alive. By giving into desire, we are choosing to live instead of simply spending the rest of our lives asking “What if?” When I think back on the things I’ve done whether good or bad (depending on who you ask), I have never had a single regret. How do we expect to learn in life without experiencing everything, even those things that aren’t always good for us? There are only a hand full of times I can recall resisting, yet I have a lot of smiles to go with the memories of those times I didn’t resist.
“I deal with temptation by yielding to it.” - Mark Twain
So, why not give in? What is there to lose? Only your sense of adventure…only the chance to bring a bit of excitement to your everyday boring life. Yet I ask myself in this game of temptation, am I the snake? Or am I the manipulated? Or perhaps we could go as far to say Adam & Eve were simply naïve to the consequences. Well, honey I’ve never been naïve when it came to temptation. I have always been well aware of what I was getting myself into. Even if there were some unknown factors going in, they were most likely responsible for my final verdict to take the plunge. So, are those who falter to temptation just thrill seekers in disguise? Or are we the ones who live our lives while others are simply tourists in our fun-filled worlds?
“I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” - Mae West
Ah, you know how much I love Ms. West and her profound knowledge she sheds onto life. I think there are some who seek out trouble, but I swear I do not go looking for those things which tempt me. I believe they are drawn to me…I’m like the devil’s candy. When I want to, I can be quite charming and stir up the hive without even realizing it. More often than not, I’m not the snake…I’m just the forbidden fruit. I guess it’s my own fault for letting others take a bite when they should’ve just eaten from someone else’s garden. [It’s a metaphor - get your minds out of the gutter!]
All in all, it comes down to this…if you give into your impulses then be sure you’re going to be okay with the results. Don’t do anything you know you’ll regret. We all have different takes on what we’ll regret and what we won’t. Live your life. Take chances. Dare to do the things that will make you wonder if you don’t do them. Stop worrying about what others will say. Live your life & ignore them. Maybe that will encourage them to do the same for themselves. As Shakespeare once said, “To thine own self be true.” That means never back down if it’s something your heart truly desires. Your head doesn’t know how to feel…that’s why you were given a heart.
As for me, lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself.
The fact that even God’s first creatures Adam and Eve couldn’t avoid it says a lot about the human compulsion to do things you know you shouldn’t. At the core of every temptation, there is the desire to feel alive. By giving into desire, we are choosing to live instead of simply spending the rest of our lives asking “What if?” When I think back on the things I’ve done whether good or bad (depending on who you ask), I have never had a single regret. How do we expect to learn in life without experiencing everything, even those things that aren’t always good for us? There are only a hand full of times I can recall resisting, yet I have a lot of smiles to go with the memories of those times I didn’t resist.
“I deal with temptation by yielding to it.” - Mark Twain
So, why not give in? What is there to lose? Only your sense of adventure…only the chance to bring a bit of excitement to your everyday boring life. Yet I ask myself in this game of temptation, am I the snake? Or am I the manipulated? Or perhaps we could go as far to say Adam & Eve were simply naïve to the consequences. Well, honey I’ve never been naïve when it came to temptation. I have always been well aware of what I was getting myself into. Even if there were some unknown factors going in, they were most likely responsible for my final verdict to take the plunge. So, are those who falter to temptation just thrill seekers in disguise? Or are we the ones who live our lives while others are simply tourists in our fun-filled worlds?
“I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” - Mae West
Ah, you know how much I love Ms. West and her profound knowledge she sheds onto life. I think there are some who seek out trouble, but I swear I do not go looking for those things which tempt me. I believe they are drawn to me…I’m like the devil’s candy. When I want to, I can be quite charming and stir up the hive without even realizing it. More often than not, I’m not the snake…I’m just the forbidden fruit. I guess it’s my own fault for letting others take a bite when they should’ve just eaten from someone else’s garden. [It’s a metaphor - get your minds out of the gutter!]
All in all, it comes down to this…if you give into your impulses then be sure you’re going to be okay with the results. Don’t do anything you know you’ll regret. We all have different takes on what we’ll regret and what we won’t. Live your life. Take chances. Dare to do the things that will make you wonder if you don’t do them. Stop worrying about what others will say. Live your life & ignore them. Maybe that will encourage them to do the same for themselves. As Shakespeare once said, “To thine own self be true.” That means never back down if it’s something your heart truly desires. Your head doesn’t know how to feel…that’s why you were given a heart.
As for me, lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself.
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