[20: meandering in the neighborhood]

[change the story we tell ourselves about our lives]

I’ve been telling the same stories about who I am for a while now. “A business
owner”, “A service worker”, “Frustrated with capitalism’s blind eye to quality
of life”.

I realized today that it’s only one story I could tell, and there are others:
Life learner turned creator turned designer and engineer. Activist and teacher.
Team worker.

These are choices. The story we tell is a choice.

Some times we have to tear down one story’s frame to tell another. Rid of
posessions, of clothes, of tribal associations. We have to make a destructive
choice to accomplish something: And the best change comes from owning that
choice. Those are the things that change the story.  We are best described not
by what we build, but by what we refuse to destroy. 

The things I’m not willing to give up: Relationships. To people, to places, to
ways of doing things. I deeply invest myself in certain methods, certain styles
and priorities. I put people who stop by face to talk face to face higher than
those who phone, and those who phone and ask questions above those who just
demand a response.

I used to refuse to give up independence, to not be in charge of every moment
of my day. Now I’m quite willing to give that up. And so the story changes. I’d
give up a lot for peace and quiet, not needing to be reachable every moment of
the day.

----

I keep thinking of being in Boston, and certain specific things always come to
mind. The crowd of people in Davis and Porter squares, the odd coming together
of old roads, the five way intersections and three-way stops. The feeling like
there’s something hidden around every corner, something that’s been there
forever waiting to be discovered. 

Coffeshops are plentiful. They serve food and not just cookies. They’re crowded
and full of fun people, and they form sorts of tribes of familiar faces. I’m
not sure how some of the businesses stay in business, and some of them will
come and go and nobody will notice.

The way the T always smells, but people use it anyway because it’s better than
trying to find parking. And I love that, that people would rather walk and take
the T.

I love the feeling that I can get across a place without having to plan a huge
trip.