Jamming the switch in the “on” position. 

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“If you chose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?”

We've entered Act 3 of the Suitcase Entrepreneur's blog challenge which is ostensibly about being homeless, or nomadic, or free to wander the earth as we see fit. The realization that I'm hit with as I ponder where in the world I'd like to live is that I've felt homeless for quite some time now. I have an apartment... but I don't consider it a home. I'm living in a loft in Busan South Korea. By the standards of most of my expat peers, it's a nice place. Roomier than most and only a short walk from the beach. It's a fine place, but it's not where I want to settle and I've known that for a while.

In fact, I've known that about every place I've been for quite some time now. 



It's easy for me to imagine where I want to be, because that's really where I've lived for a long time now. Existing inside of my imagination has laid out a pretty clear path and now I'm ready to take steps. 

It's very possible that I could have started with the stepping much earlier but sometimes it takes going through the journey to realize that we had everything we needed at the start.

Dorothy had to travel through Oz before she knew to click her heels and I've had to go through what I've gone through.

Entering into situations that I thought of from the start as temporary means that I've treated everything associated with them in the same manner. I haven't put down roots because I've been preparing to leave most places as soon as I arrive. I've been in my current apartment for almost two years but it's still decorated in such a way that I could walk away from it pretty easily. My couches and furniture were gifts or purchased on the cheap second hand while I dream of a time when I can start putting together a home "for real".  I dream of quality pieces that create a layered and textured aesthetic that conveys comfort, quality and style. I do this while living like a slightly well heeled college student.

There's nothing wrong with my life other than that in some areas it's not the one I've wanted and so elements have been neglected while I wait for my real life to start.

It's been my silent belief that I would suddenly “turn it on” when it counted but if now doesn't matter now, why would it matter later?

Dave Smart has had unprecedented success as the head coach of the Carleton Raven's Men's Basketball team. During the two seasons in which I covered the team, I believe that they were undefeated through the regular season and in the second year, through the playoffs. Iv'e only seen them lose one game.

Many of the other teams that they play are nowhere near their level and sometimes this leads to lopsided scores.

Regardless of the competition though, the Ravens always seem to play as thought they were down by five points with less than a minute on the clock.

They've been looked down on for this with critics accusing them of bullying lesser teams. Dave brushed those sentiments aside and simply stuck to his assertion that they were just respecting the game and trying to play the right way. 

He knew that there would be better teams to play against and if they ever played down to a lesser opponent they would be setting themselves up for defeat down the road. "It's not a switch you can turn on and off" he once told me about the intensity needed to be great.

From the point of view of that metaphor I've been stuck in the "off" position and ignoring Dave Smart’s sage advice believing that I could switch it on later.

The dream? I want to live somewhere inspiring and comfortable. In my mind that could be Barcelona or Montreal but I’m not limiting it to either of those places. They just represent some things that I like. 

I’ve lived in Montreal while I’ve never lived in Barcelona but both exist in my mind as charming places with good food, art, and culture. They are their own places but also having access to international airports so I could visit family or go on adventures easily.  

I also like the people I know from these places and if I were to have kids, something I do want in my life, I’d want to be somewhere that produces good people. Whether it takes a village or not, I think that the surroundings sure play a large role in raising a kid. 

Another place I haven’t been to plays heavily in the fantasy. I’d vacation in Bali often and partake of yoga, sailing, scuba diving, hammock napping, great food and Ninja Camp. 

All that said, I rode my motorcycle home along the coast and stopped to eat at a Japanese restaurant on the beach. I wrote half of this post while waiting for my grilled tuna... "here" is good when I let go of frantically trying to get "there". 

The challenge will be being who I think I’ll be in those places, when all of those elements are set up, now.  

I’m taking a breath and flipping the switch.