What if all of us stopped where we were and just stood still?
Even just for a moment.
The world seems to be in such a rush lately.
Pedestrians speed-walking past us on the sidewalk.
Car horns blaring as drivers maneuver seamlessly between lanes, cutting others off in a quest to end up a car length ahead at the next stop light.
Young adults desperate to skip across the globe to countries unknown in a quest to check boxes next to a life list of seeming impossibility.
Music has gotten faster and louder.
Yoga has gotten hotter and more aerobic.
Career tracks have accelerated.
Our meals are not only fast but they are super-sized and yet we are still hungry after.
I can’t sit for more than a minute without looking something up, or fidgeting or *
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the decisions I’ve made in life that brought me to this moment, sitting in my hand-me-down leather chair typing away furiously on a laptop. Heartbeat quickening as I listen to sirens blare outside my window. Jazz standards soothing the room in the background. Mind racing as I try to focus on one window out of twelve open on the screen.
And the realization hits me. Not like a ton of bricks or out of no where.
But as a quiet voice, that has been in the back of my mind.
There the whole time.
It simply tells me one thing.
Stop.
I’ve questioned why I was so obsessed with the lifestyle designers and entrepreneurs and location independents and minimalists and. And. AND. lately
I realized they are all right.
I am scared
But not for the reasons that they emulate.
I’m scared to give it all up because I know how easy it would be to do it.
I’ve been running since I was 16 years old. On a treadmill that has taken me everywhere and no where all at once.
There is something so beautifully appealing to me about never setting down anywhere. No life-long career. No long-standing relationships. No possessions to weigh me down. No need to be held accountable because I am gone as quickly as I came. Never falling in love and getting attached. New experiences and adventures to keep myself occupied.
A legend to those you encounter because no one knows the real you. The good and the bad, the accomplished and the flawed, the very human and penetrable you.
The world is in a rush to get on with things and be big and loud and crowd-sourced and traveled and experienced and remembered. To distract ourselves from the fact that we are spinning and spinning in a field staring at the stars and never moving anywhere.
Do you know how much easier it is to not care?
I mean really truly passionately live and die for CARE about someone or something.
Enough to devote your life to it.
Enough to move across the world for it.
Enough to stand still for it.
* I left this sentence as is because in proof-reading I realized I actually half-typed a sentence and then moved on to some other thought, all because I was going so fast. Never even finishing the first.
Photo Credit – Alfred Eisenstaedt, Life Magazine 1945
“A legend to those you encounter because no one knows the real you.”
I loooove that line. It’s so true. This is the thought at the back of my mind when I imagine my location-independent lifestyle. Breezing in and out of places like a ghost.
Beautiful post.
Chase – I feel very similar. And there are some parts to that thought that are irresistible and some that are terrifying.
Thanks for the kind words!
Loooove this post.
After I read this, I thought, “Right now, I can’t decide whether I’m running towards or away from something.” Hoping to eventually figure that out.
Thanks for this.
Jamie – Yes, soooooooooo true! Whenever I try to figure out if it is running towards or away from, I have about a dozen justifications of either. Depending on the day, the surroundings, the people, what side of the bed I get out of…
You know. Important things. 🙂
Great post! There is a cultural resistance to commitment these days. Commitment to people, commitment to jobs, careers, locations. I think the perception of endless possibilities is paralyzing us or making us commitment retarded.
Linda – I would agree, I think our culture has a very hard time with commitment. It’s my top blog post ever here in fact! Very astute as well, that the endless possibilities make the commitments even harder. Any examples to share (always curious for your opinions!)
You and I are so similar in so many ways and so different in so many ways. I love commitment and knowing where I’m going. I love having a job (yes even in corporate America) to go to every day. I love having the same old run down apartment to come home to every day. I love being in love and sharing that. I love knowing where I’ll be next week or the week after.
I think it’s funny (don’t know if that’s the right adjective), but I know you the best/most out of everyone. I know what makes you tick, you’ve stood still around me long enough for me to get to know you as a sister, friend, and partner in crime. I know you the best and you’ve kept me close, and vice versa mind you. I think once you find someone you want to stand still with, you’ll keep them as close to you as you have kept me. Thankfully, I have the best of both worlds right now 🙂
Amy – Yes, we are very different yet similar. That’s why we’re those sisters that are closer than siblings and forever bound like best friends. I enjoy some stability as well, but I just get bored if I stay with something for too long. I’m like a wild tiger, you can’t cage me. 😉
As for finding someone to stand still with, I don’t know. That’s kinda scary. Can I find someone who will do that cross-hand holding thing where we spin as fast as we can in a field and eventually fall down laughing and looking at the stars? That sounds good too…
Great article I really love it. As I was reading I was really wondering if it was gonna end like it would. It reminds me about a story i read recently about finding a soul mate, if I can find it I will send it to you! 🙂
Josh – How’d you think it was going to end? I’d definitely like to know how it ends! But I’m also one of those people who gets about 60% through a book and has to fight the urge to read the last five pages cause I can’t wait. 🙂
I’d love to see the story – send it along if you find it!