It's Fancy Driving, All Right - Some Thoughts on Gratitude
Swamp lands for miles and miles - little else grows out here.
Riding home from the Outer Banks, NC, we pass a homestead with barren fields, and a produce stand with a sign that says only "sweet potatoes." The stand was empty.
A ways back, I saw a sign from the local wildlife foundation that said "waterfowl impoundment." I can only think of ducks and the like sitting in little jail cells singing Folsom Prison Blues.
There's a whole lot of nothing out here. The land is full of nothing, save for soybeans. Some tobacco.
Alternatively, you have places such as New York of Chicago, where the streets are taller than they are long, and they are crowded.
Even NC's own Raleigh or Charlotte has plenty of hustle and bustle.
Out here in rural eastern NC though, the buzz comes from the bees.
If you relocated someone from one of the cities to here, I imagine you would receive one of two reactions.
Regardless of how long someone had lived in the city, they likely would either enjoy the relief from the noise and compactness of their city, or they would find themselves driven crazy by the silence, or feel exposed and vulnerable in the openness.
There's a feeling of contentedness out in places such as this. The people here are poor, and poverty has existed for generations. Frugality is in excess out here. Here, people will bury their dead in their backyard. Elsewhere, others bury their dead far away, in unfamiliar dirt.
I would say that no two places could be more opposite, but know that would be incorrect. Places like Dubai live in great excess, but there are places in Mexico, India, and Africa where the people barely have a dollar to their name.
David Byrne has written a great deal on city living and rural areas. If you find yourself interested at all in the development of cities and the livability of such places, I greatly recommend his book, Bicycle Diaries. Reading this work has allowed me to be more aware of the places we live, and how enjoyable it is to live in one place over another.
As for cities and rural areas, it is difficult, nearly impossible to pin down the merits of one over the other. Developed areas certainly have an upper hand in the way of convenience and availability of material goods. I would say though, in areas where such things are harder to come by, they are enjoyed more so, as gratitude creates space for appreciation.
However, such appreciation doesn't come without a price. The scarcity of items can certainly bring a great deal of frustration.
The Chicamacomico Life Saving Station gives us a glimpse of what life might have been like in the 1940s. I plan on writing a post delving further into the charm of this place.
My goal is not to denounce area one over the other, I aim only to open questions about the enjoyment of one living space over another. I think there is a lot of value in understanding and appreciating differing lifestyles.
Unfortunately, due to the power of convenience, I fear a great deal of human resiliency has diminished. Our needs and desires can be met almost instantaneously. Convenience can be helpful and useful at times, but I feel that too much time spent in our comfort zone closes off opportunities for growth and strengthening ourselves. We always have a remedy for our desires and discomfort.
If you really think about it, nearly everything we create and consume is to make sure we stay in our comfort zone - cars, houses, food have all been improved to points where all our needs and wants are met all the time. And I understand why you would want to stay in your comfort zone - discomfort is not an enjoyable feeling, but it is a necessary one. But a lot of people dedicate their lives to avoiding discomfort. It's a feeling few people understand the value of, I think. Perhaps that is why some people are still so adverse to modern art - it often makes us uncomfortable and presents unfamiliar ideas to us. Even though it is presented to us in a "safe" environment, a lot of people still avoid it.
During my years in college, I fell into a comfort zone, the comfort zone of routine. The consistency lent itself to my comfort zone, but with nearby fast food and dollar stores, convenience became part of my life.
Having finished my degree, I find myself in a place of discomfort, looking for a job and not having funds to spend freely as I did in the past. Item scarcity has made itself known to me again as a result, so I find myself having to readjust. Satisfaction has to come from things I already own, rather than new items. And I'm not much of a spender, but when it comes to food, I like to indulge.
So I am learning how to find the merit in discomfort again. It's not often easy, but it is a great place to learn and grow.
If you find yourself in a similar place, do not despair, or get caught up with the things you are lacking. Take that space and use it as a practice of gratitude, and you may find that you appreciate things you already have in a different way.
Until next time.
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Riding home from the Outer Banks, NC, we pass a homestead with barren fields, and a produce stand with a sign that says only "sweet potatoes." The stand was empty.
A ways back, I saw a sign from the local wildlife foundation that said "waterfowl impoundment." I can only think of ducks and the like sitting in little jail cells singing Folsom Prison Blues.
There's a whole lot of nothing out here. The land is full of nothing, save for soybeans. Some tobacco.
 |
| photo by my friend, Danny Allen, NY |
Out here in rural eastern NC though, the buzz comes from the bees.
If you relocated someone from one of the cities to here, I imagine you would receive one of two reactions.
Regardless of how long someone had lived in the city, they likely would either enjoy the relief from the noise and compactness of their city, or they would find themselves driven crazy by the silence, or feel exposed and vulnerable in the openness.
There's a feeling of contentedness out in places such as this. The people here are poor, and poverty has existed for generations. Frugality is in excess out here. Here, people will bury their dead in their backyard. Elsewhere, others bury their dead far away, in unfamiliar dirt.
I would say that no two places could be more opposite, but know that would be incorrect. Places like Dubai live in great excess, but there are places in Mexico, India, and Africa where the people barely have a dollar to their name.
 |
| Charlotte, NC, photographed by me |
As for cities and rural areas, it is difficult, nearly impossible to pin down the merits of one over the other. Developed areas certainly have an upper hand in the way of convenience and availability of material goods. I would say though, in areas where such things are harder to come by, they are enjoyed more so, as gratitude creates space for appreciation.
However, such appreciation doesn't come without a price. The scarcity of items can certainly bring a great deal of frustration.
The Chicamacomico Life Saving Station gives us a glimpse of what life might have been like in the 1940s. I plan on writing a post delving further into the charm of this place.
My goal is not to denounce area one over the other, I aim only to open questions about the enjoyment of one living space over another. I think there is a lot of value in understanding and appreciating differing lifestyles.
Unfortunately, due to the power of convenience, I fear a great deal of human resiliency has diminished. Our needs and desires can be met almost instantaneously. Convenience can be helpful and useful at times, but I feel that too much time spent in our comfort zone closes off opportunities for growth and strengthening ourselves. We always have a remedy for our desires and discomfort.
If you really think about it, nearly everything we create and consume is to make sure we stay in our comfort zone - cars, houses, food have all been improved to points where all our needs and wants are met all the time. And I understand why you would want to stay in your comfort zone - discomfort is not an enjoyable feeling, but it is a necessary one. But a lot of people dedicate their lives to avoiding discomfort. It's a feeling few people understand the value of, I think. Perhaps that is why some people are still so adverse to modern art - it often makes us uncomfortable and presents unfamiliar ideas to us. Even though it is presented to us in a "safe" environment, a lot of people still avoid it.
During my years in college, I fell into a comfort zone, the comfort zone of routine. The consistency lent itself to my comfort zone, but with nearby fast food and dollar stores, convenience became part of my life.
Having finished my degree, I find myself in a place of discomfort, looking for a job and not having funds to spend freely as I did in the past. Item scarcity has made itself known to me again as a result, so I find myself having to readjust. Satisfaction has to come from things I already own, rather than new items. And I'm not much of a spender, but when it comes to food, I like to indulge.
So I am learning how to find the merit in discomfort again. It's not often easy, but it is a great place to learn and grow.
If you find yourself in a similar place, do not despair, or get caught up with the things you are lacking. Take that space and use it as a practice of gratitude, and you may find that you appreciate things you already have in a different way.
Until next time.
If you want notifications for when I post, make sure to subscribe!
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