(By Rhanna, August 27th)
Something that I’ve found kind of interesting with the beginning of our plans to travel is the lack of enthusiasm that we’ve gotten from people. Or at least that I’ve gotten. I’ve told people and gotten replies of “cool.” and “that’s nice.” I’m not writing about it to complain and demand attention for what we’re doing, because that's not what I want. At all. I’m writing about it because it kind of fascinates me.
I’m in the middle of reading “My Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn, and it’s got me listening closely to what Mother Culture is telling us.
We are told in our culture that it is hard to just be happy for people. That upon hearing that a friend is making plans to change their lives, our first reaction is to point out all the things that can go wrong, be jealous and shoot them down to try to make ourselves feel better in some weird way, that it will “never work,” to give an answer that lacks any enthusiasm, to nod our heads solemnly and think to ourselves “they’ll never do it. They’re all talk.” Granted, there are a lot of people out there who talk the big talk and don’t even take a tiny step, but if you know us at all, you should know that we aren't those kind of people. I don’t think many people truly believed us when we first told them we were leaving California and moving to Washington. But we did it. We moved to a place that we had never been to before (well besides my Dad), and it was such amazing choice, and we've all just bloomed here. I know that we are going to bloom and blossom on our next adventure together as a strong, happy family.
We are told in our culture that it is hard to just be happy for people. That upon hearing that a friend is making plans to change their lives, our first reaction is to point out all the things that can go wrong, be jealous and shoot them down to try to make ourselves feel better in some weird way, that it will “never work,” to give an answer that lacks any enthusiasm, to nod our heads solemnly and think to ourselves “they’ll never do it. They’re all talk.” Granted, there are a lot of people out there who talk the big talk and don’t even take a tiny step, but if you know us at all, you should know that we aren't those kind of people. I don’t think many people truly believed us when we first told them we were leaving California and moving to Washington. But we did it. We moved to a place that we had never been to before (well besides my Dad), and it was such amazing choice, and we've all just bloomed here. I know that we are going to bloom and blossom on our next adventure together as a strong, happy family.
Why can’t our first reaction as a culture to be to encourage and be happy for those people? Why not encourage them, even if they never do it? Why not try to be excited and make people feel loved and supported? Wouldn't the world be a better place if we put a little energy into encouraging people to love their dreams? It doesn’t take that much time to say “OMG that is wonderful! I am very very excited for you!!” And spend a little time asking them excited questions and listening to the answers. Everyone loves to be listened to, REALLY listened too. Here’s some food for thought: next time someone tells you they’re going to start an adventure or write a book or bake a cake or do anything, stop and think about what you’d like to hear if you were in their position. Don’t let Mother Culture get in the way of making someone feel loved.
Just be happy.
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