Urban Ennui

"You won't find your answer in a book (or blog). You just have to go there."

This is a quote taken from Bill Murray's character in the movie 'The Razor's Edge' adapted from W.Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel about a World War I vet's quest for meaning. I used to think that reading about a person or place would satisfy my curiosity to know more. I wrongly believed that a biography divulged all a person's secrets and/or a travel memoir allowed me to circumvent any need to visit. On the contrary, living vicariously through someone else's journeys just made me envious and miserable. When Max from GoNomad offered me a couple trips after another bad breakup (unbeknownst to him) things finally started to change. My 'quest for meaning' in my own urban ennui started to unravel slowly but surely. I stopped waiting for others to change and initiated change in myself. I became proactive rather than reactive and literally overnight, a better and brighter place opened up. Tonight I'm off to South Deerfield, Mass. to celebrate GoNomad Cafe's 1 year anniversary as well as my 2-year initiation into this select group of gifted writers. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to look at life like Churchhill once described.... "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."