I was thinking the other day about my life. This is a preposterously stupid thing to do as it inevitably leads to one of two things - turmoil or one of 'those' conclusions. On this particular pondering I came to a conclusion; that being my goals in life have shifted, dramatically and, I am pretty sure, conclusively.
When I was a stripling studying for a degree in the useful and ever so vocational subject of philosophy I was possessed of a terrribly cityish vision of the future. I had thoughts of a pied a terre a few steps from the trendiest clubs and bars and a larger and more imposing pad, quite possibly Georgian, in one of the better 'burbs of the big smoke.
If we fast forward that desire to here and now it becomes utterly incongruous - I can't bear being in a city for more than an occasional night of drinking and a curry, and the city I would go to remains Norwich, that parochial backwater watching over the Kingdom of East Anglia. My visits to London are restricted to a very occasional meeting with old friends. On that basis, I declare the desire for a pied a terre not only null but decidedly void as well.
Rewinding once again to my twenties self, I anticipated a stressful but ultimately rewarding job in the city with most of my food taken away or eaten in some bistro or other, I had no desire or compulsion to actually think about what I was eating, or where it had come from. This is dimaterically opposed to the here and now! Whilst I still enjoy a take away, I want quality ingredients for which I know the original source, and in terms of work, the driving ambitions are dissipating fast in the face of the good life. I honestly now feel uneasy if I cook for myself and do not know where the ingredients have come from, or that the meat (if it is meat I am preparing) had a respectful rearing.
I think it is my upcoming move that has made me take stock, the house I am planning the move to is typically 'county' and not a bit 'city', it feels rustic and it would be totally out of place in a city or even a town, but I love it. It encapsulates everything that is important to me at the moment - my immediate surrounding being peaceful, the food I eat being home grown or locally sourced, life being all about pleasure in my time, not trying to wedge moments of pleasure into a crowded working day.
Whilst many of my desires have become opposites of past desires, I was struggling to come up with a catch-all description of the change, but whilst typing this I think I have it - I want everything slower, sedentary, and relaxed. Why run anywhere when you will miss all the wonder on the way?
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