Once upon a time, someone said to me they were off to start a new life. Essentially, the old one was shit, they were abandoning it and starting from scratch. I know the new life argument sounds good, but the truth is you don’t. As one dear friend put it on social media, using her own life as a wonderful example, you can definitely change your life and improve it, especially if you are, like she is, smart and prepared to graft, but it’s branching out from what once was and what will be.
I am essentially the same person I was when I was young, which is to say hopelessly disorganised, with no real talent nor ability and rather than yearning for change, I hate change. I like doing different things, sometimes, and going to different places, much more than I used to, but still the best place for me is my Man Cave and the best company, for as long as I need it, is me.
I think it takes some real guts to change one’s life, to leave behind the dreams that turned into nightmares and the people who let you down. It’s so easy to just muddle on, to stick with the familiar, than to take a giant step into a new world.
One thing I am quite certain about: it is not the material world that makes your life better. The new car, new house, the smart electrical gadget – who would not want them? But I know people with more money than God and nothing suggests to me that they are happier than I am. Social media is a great place to celebrate your feelings of superiority but in truth few of us are impressed. In any event, I’ve become a great believer in less is more on social media (I didn’t use to be). The happier you are, the less you put on it.
I really am going to try to change my life in the coming months and years, both physically and mentally. I can’t start again because I am what I am and what’s gone is gone. More of the good stuff and less of the shit would be a start.
