I am coming down off my NYC high. Back to work, grocery shopping, chores and small-town life. I am going to go back to the city soon, and still plan to live there part-time. But for now, I will bloom where I am planted.
I think one of the keys to inner contentment is not wanting to do/be somewhere/something other than what you are. My former therapist told me: "Don't be married and wishing you were single, or vice versa," (although the former is more complicated than the latter). A great example of blooming where planted.
So I am not going to live day-to-day in Smalltown wishing I were elsewhere. Life's too short and precious for that! There is a lot of joy to be found here, including a job I love and a very dear sister. The beach is four blocks away and my husband loves to surf. We have a couple of pubs we call our "locals" where the barkeeps are friendly and the drinks are
And -- we have thrift and resale stores too. OK, nothing like Beacon's Closet or Buffalo Exchange, and no fabulous vintage Flea Markets. But some good finds for the faithful shoppers. Yesterday I found a nearly-new Tahari pantsuit. Black with a fine chalk-stripe, fully lined and marked at $8.00 -- but reduced by 50%! I don't wear trousers that often, but just a great-looking jacket for $4 puts a smile on my thrifty face.
Tahari by Arthur S Levine suit- mine's similar to this one, but more pin-stripey, and the jacket's a touch shorter.
In what ways do you enjoy and make the most of your surroundings? What do you love about where you are planted?
What a great find and a great attitude, Patti! I really try my best to live one day at a time and make the most of that day! It does no one any good to live in the past or to live wishing for a life you do not have...make the most of where you are right now...today! Excellent post!!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog for your positive attitude and sunny outlook! We always think the grass is greener on the other side. This was a really refreshing and sweet post :) Heather
ReplyDeleteYes! All blessings flow from that place of "blooming where we're planted."
ReplyDeleteI enjoy this posting.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal level -
A classic wanting/not having is the "curly hair / straight hair"-dilemma, jo?
At a certain age, most women want their hair to be the other way. And the flat-iron and rollers-industry booms. :-)
Skincolour and also hyperpigmentation is something many people put lots
of energy in. My Japanese friends have horrible mothers, who complain
when their daughters don't cover the hyperpigmentation. My best friend spent so many hours on the tanning bed, her skin aged early.
There is one thing my parent's won't accept but I made peace with long
ago: I have a pale face and when I tan, the tan is gone within 3, 4
days. So I don't bother tanning but switched to pinkish blushes instead
which compliment the pale skin. My parents will probably never quit
complaining how pale I am and that I should tan more. Oh, wait, I found a
way out of the dilemma! A foundation that simulates the perfect tan. I
keep it in my drawer and put it on when we head over to my parents
place, espacially after vacations.
On a private level -
On the personal level I enjoy living with my partner on mere 600sqft. It
is the same place my parents moved into when their were newly weds.
Today newly weds move to places twice or three times the size of our
apartment. How I love being my parent's plant and living together with a
partner who does not think "bigger is better".
On a regional level -
I feel as if Vienna was meant to be a city for bicycle-riders, similar to most cities in The Netherlands. Today it ressembles more LA than Amsterdam, cars keep jamming the streets and cyclists are a "weird artsy minority" over here. I hope the eco-friendly plant grows sooner or later! since Vienna is nothing like LA!
I enjoy living in Vienna though I miss the opportunities to meet other US bloggers "just so", over a weekend. :-/
Yes, there are days I wish I lived somewhere else. But I'm close to my family, I have a wonderful group of friends who live close. Also, housing & rent is really reasonable. The full price for a really decent house in my city is equivalent to one years rent in NYC.
ReplyDeleteGreat post - thought provoking. I went through a stage back in '07 when I desperately wanted to pack up my family, sell everything and move to Paris. I was quite serious - started taking French lessons, looked into becoming an ESL teacher, and tried, in vain, to convince my husband to move.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I realized, after about a year of this preoccupation with Paris, that I don't have to live in Paris to love Paris And by living there, it would take away the mystique and romance for me. Now, I just visit when it's doable and love it from afar.
Where I live is wonderful. People come from all over the world to visit Sonoma wine country. After my year long fascination, I get how fortunate I am to live here.
What a great attitude to have!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post, Patti. For whatever reason, I find that gratitude for wherever I'm living has always come easily for me. I feel like my current location is a great fit for my lifestyle, but I've felt that way while living in very different places, too. I guess I'm adaptable! (That doesn't mean I'm crabgrass or ragweed, does it? Eep!)
ReplyDeleteOnly way to live a peaceful life and be in the moment, grateful for all that we have.
ReplyDeletethanks so much for reminding me, Patti! Especially because I am counting the days till I am in a warmer climate and sometimes its just depressing. Some of that has to do with menopause; but I make the most out of each and every day nontheless. and as much as I am geographically misplaced, I feel at peace. Most of the time. till the winter. (and I will see YOU soon!)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you bloom!--and you do!
sO you want a pied a terre in the city? God bless you!
I sure needed that reminder. I spend about half my time telling people about how I've created my own little perfect world here, and the other half complaining bitterly about it. Somehow I think I've been focusing too much on the negative recently and I need to get back to blooming!
ReplyDeleteWhat an unbelievable deal you got on that suit! Love pinstripes, love Tahari, love the price tag.
Amen!
ReplyDeleteNo, no -- adaptable like the willow tree that bends but does not break! : >
ReplyDeleteYay! for the thought of seeing you soon!
ReplyDeleteI love Kansas where I was born and probably where I will die. It is a wide open space with beautiful sunrises and sunsets. There are beautiful native grasses and wonderful people here. We may not have the spectacular natural wonders that other states have, but I find beauty in simplicity. I may wish we had really cool stores and other things here, but there truly is no place like home and this is my home.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I need to learn to love where I'm planted. Inner contentment is sometimes hard for me. I think it's mainly because I'm a dreamer, I have lots of huge visions. I LOVE that suit, what a great buy. This was a wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteI am in a fairly small city and sometimes when I go up to the "big" city (Portland), I wish that I lived there. But, most of my family lives in this same small town so I can see most of my nephews and nieces every day. I am also 45 minutes from the city, 45 minutes from the ocean and about an hour from the mountains. All of which makes it easier to bloom where I'm planted.
ReplyDeleteblooming where you're planted is such a piece of simple and sound advice, thanks, humans are often not contented. Being contented is bliss.
ReplyDeletemongsmythriftycloset.blogspot.com
I NEEDED this post, today, Patti. "Bloom where you're planted" is a motto of mine, and I try to live by it. For me it means, stop wishing for out there, and accept what's around me, and what's inside. I've got a plate full, and I've been focusing on the "what's not right with this picture" instead of appreciating on what's around me, and in me right now.
ReplyDeleteMy town has lots of good, and not so amazings. The thing is, it's the "bloom where you're planted" folks that are doing all the wonderful exciting things that are improving the culture of the town. You've reminded me to focus on the doing, and not just merely wishing.
You have such a positive attitude. I have been guilty of not blooming where I'm planted in the past, but these days it's different. I love right now the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI am so incredibly envious that you live 4 blocks from the beach. It is incredibly cold in Chicago... I've tried to make the most of the city by visiting the museums, finding interesting indoor places near by like museums, larger ones as well as the smaller ones.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to always feel positive about where you are, but it's certainly a great idea to look for the good stuff. I don't always love everything about the area I live in, but I know so many good people round here, they make up for any shortcomings. It's nice to feel part of a community.
ReplyDeleteI'm more about fighting to get where I want to be!
ReplyDeleteNice post Patti. I have trouble with the blooming at times.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to live in a great area with an adoring family and supportive husband. When I become disgruntled with life I try to spend more time exercising. For some reason it helps to ground me and makes me feel happier.
ReplyDelete