Can we really have it all?

Everytime I dream of a new life in a new place, there is always the flip side.

The quieter city one day won’t be vibrant enough. The louder city with ‘more’ to offer will take more of your soul. Less is more. More is less.

For once the loudest calling I have is the most uncomfortable one: to stay and lean in to the restlessness without the overhaul.

Travel more at weekends. Swim more in the city. And finally: write my heart out.

So can we have it all? The philosopher in me knows the answer. We can’t ever have it all.

We have to choose. Even if we don’t choose, we are choosing to surrender. For a passionate soul, this can be a devastating realisation. Upon realising, one grieves all the lives we dream of living that pass us by.

Amor fati – love of fate – is the antidote. Embrace your life as it is! Be where your feet are! Live the one you have!

Though I have a strong feeling that the quieter, simpler life is going to pull me out and through in the end. Endless space to think and write. I think it’s all I’ve ever craved.

Wealth is freedom to create.

The creative drive is the deepest one. And we must find ways to honour that in the context of the life we live, ideally without resentment towards all the roles and responsibilities that distract us from our creative impulses.

At least that’s how life feels to me – one big inconvenience from what I really want to be doing.