I live just outside of a big city in the US, one that I fell in love with 25 years ago. It had charm, character, and soul. Each small neighborhood within the big city had its own feel and vibe. There were plenty of small little mom and pop shops, restaurants, and businesses. Even though it was a big city it was relatively safe and very clean. People cared about their neighborhoods and the well being of their neighbors. The city was full of artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, and families.
Over the last 25 years I have watched it slowly change and to me it is now unrecognizable. I don't even spend very much time in the city anymore. What are now two giant companies actually started here, and others have since moved in. What used to be places that employed techy "nerds" or "geeks" now employ the mainstream millennials who were raised by upper-middle class parents that could afford to pay for Universities. I have watched many independent businesses close down to be replaced by either chains or fly-by-night shops that sell cheaply made products. The new independent businesses that have opened are started by people who obviously have a lot of money (and can afford the sky-high rent that's now a standard in the city), and they are "cool" and "swank" but somehow sterile. They don't have the quaint, warm, and cozy vibe of the places that I was lucky enough to go to as a young adult. There is a more uniform look to both the buildings and the people in the city, other than the fact that there is a very noticeably larger homeless and drug addicted population. To see the stark contrast of the tent cities that have popped up near fancy hotels and five star dining is quite disillusioning. What was once a clean and vibrant city is now littered with both garbage and potholes, alleyways that smell of urine, overpriced parking, and a rising crime rate (and yes, they did defund the police).
I realize that everyone is different and has different priorities, but I miss the soul of the city I used to spend every weekend in. Most of the artists moved away because they can't afford to live there. The other artists gave in and got a job at a corporation so that they could have benefits and a 401k and they lost their edge and their rebel spirit. They are now the ones calling the police because someone is lighting fireworks down the street on 4th of July..
When we want anything money can buy, we end up settling for only what money can buy. Somewhere along the way we lose all of the little things that are worth loving, living for, and fighting for.


** If you would like to talk to someone and get another perspective, I am offering a few new clients very affordable hourly rates for coaching and listening as a human being who wants to genuinely help another (current rates apply through 2021).
"It may be true that ignorance is bliss
but the best challenge in life
is to leave ignorance behind
and learn how to find bliss anyway" -me
*If you are curious at all and would like more information, I will send you more details if you email me through my business contact email which you can find at the bottom of my About page.


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