Choices...and settling...

We all make them, some are good, some aren't so good. All day I sit and talk with students, parents, teachers, friends and I always feel like I'm saying everything is a choice, and with the choice you make there is a consequence. And, not making a choice is, in itself, a choice. At work I have to be really careful not to use the word punishment and instead say consequence. Somehow consequences always seem bad, but can't they be good too? I mean, if you make a good choice then you get a good consequence, right? I made a few not so great choices recently and it's funny, because somehow, when you only have yourself to blame, it just kind of, is what it is, and there's nothing you can do but move on and keep on going, right?

I've been talking to a friend of mine who hates where he lives, but has stayed for years and years because the job is fine and the life is easy, but not good. Settling... So why does it seem we often let fine be good enough? It seems like everyone sort of lives at this ok level and lately it seems like many people I talk to keep saying the same thing, there has to be something more than this, right? I know that I personally find it especially annoying because my life is good, but I'm always just waiting for the next best thing. Work for instance, a big part of my plan was to eventually get to the point where I could afford to work and live in Western Europe. I had this idea that I would have to go to Dubai, then another big school in Asia somewhere, save a ton of money and then come to Europe. Fortunately, or so I thought, I found a great job that pays well and skipped the big school in Asia part, but now that I'm here, I'm thinking really? This is what I wanted. Sure, it's great, good people, tons of travel, lots of fun times but what else is there? And, it's not even like I'm miserable, I just think I should be happier than I am. And, I'm pretty happy.

Last night I went out to dinner with a group of people, one of the girls was visiting a friend of mine and she is currently living in Portland. It made me SO homesick, I couldn't stop thinking about all the people, places and ease of life that I miss so much. But, when I really think about it, I know I would go crazy at home and be so bored and so broke.

Settling... another word than often has a negative feel to it. People talk about settling in terms of relationships, jobs, all kinds of different things. But sometimes settling means you know what to expect, it may not be great, but it's not scary, it's not the unknown. There are many a time that I sit with a glass of wine and a girlfriend or two and talk about whether or not it's a good idea to settle, at the end of the day for myself, I'd say no. But, the more I think about it, the more I can understand why someone would make the choice to "settle" and just like how maybe consequences aren't alwyas bad, maybe, for some people, settling isn't always bad either.