Real life happens beneath the surface. I wonder how many people slide through life, denying the misconstrued reality beneath the smiling face.

New York has been awesome. I’ve experienced so much in such little time. But, it is not wise for me to stay here anymore. It is kind of like being in a relationship that doesn’t quite fit. (Ah, the irony and the layers, parallels of my experience here.) As many good things that may be there in the relationship, there are those parts that I ignore with hopes that they will disappear. It is the puzzle piece that almost fits, that almost makes the picture perfect, but no matter how hard I pound it simply will not fit. My efforts can not change the fact.

It is time for me to take what I have learned, and go and apply it somewhere else. Hmmm…there are some little fortune cookie type wisdoms that can cause as much damage as good. One of them is this: “Make mistakes, learn from them.”

Yes, do learn from your mistakes, but don’t wait till you make mistakes to learn something. “You will mess up, but get up and keep going.” Yes, we will mess up, and yes, you must get up and keep going. But match the two of those mantras together and one can rationalize just about anything one does. It seems like you get robbed of the knowledge gained from a mistake if you go and make it again. What did you learn?

I’ve learned that I need to live around people with a vision like mine. I can not grow and blossom if the sun is blocked by dense skepticism and negativity around me. Eventually I will wilt. Having learned this, I obligated to take the next step, to surround myself with light.

I hear it is pretty sunny in Arizona.