Is it possible to be happy where you feel like you are stuck? Regardless of where we are, I do believe it is possible to be happy. Personally, I am bitter towards living in a small city that is land-locked and in a flyover state during a pandemic. Yes, there is always going to be a better city or country that have a better climate or opportunities, but what can we do with what we have? Personally, I’ve discovered that once I’ve found the perfect place, I am still not satisfied because there is so much more for me to explore.
After traveling extensively, I realize I want to do it more. But what of it isn’t possible during a pandemic or lockdowns? We make do with what we have, but you have to work at it. If what you want there doesn’t exist, try to improve it yourself.
From the master of micro-adventures:
“I thought that I had been paying close attention to my local area through years of micro-adventures. Then I committed to spending a year exploring only the single local map that I live on (the big fold-out paper maps hikers use, covering an area of 20km x 20km). At first I worried that after years of global adventures — cycling around the world, rowing the Atlantic, walking across southern India etc. — my one small, suburban patch outside London would be agonisingly claustrophobic, boring and limiting. But I was wrong! I have discovered places I never knew existed, and been astonished at the wildness, beauty (ugliness, too) and history I have discovered. If you find somewhere new within a few miles of home then you are exploring the world just as much as someone trekking across the Empty Quarter Desert in Arabia…”
Alastair Humphreys
Well said. Inspirational even.
Your mental and physical health is crucial in all of this. It’s time to keep your brain and your body fit. Get out and have a walk and a think. I’ll be embracing naps a lot this winter as well.
I said all that to say this: if you can’t change your latitude, then your attitude needs to change. This is easier said than done, but I am going to give it a helluva try.