East of Eden

This is where I am.
It is also coincedentally the title of one of my favorite books. Eden is near, but I am somewhere downwind of Paradise, in a place far more comfortable. I enjoy the imperfections that humans fall mercy to. Also, what would I do with perfection but sully its name, disregard it, or worse? I am in a comfortable valley in which I feel blessedly close to perfection, but I can use the imperfection in my life to be grateful for its opposite. I feel that if the terrible moments didn't come along to slap me in the face and awaken my inner gratitude for all that is not terrible, for all moments that are not the moment I despise, I would not truly appreciate the beauty in my life.

We, here in the beautiful, sun-drenched and fertile county of Orange have little to complain about, and yet complaints are all we hear. I am guilty of this myself. I feel saddened at the realization of what a freak I would seem like if, rather than complaining about the weather, my lack of energy, or politics, I spouted inspirational words of joy. Picture this: I walk into an elevator at my doctor's office with a stranger. I smile as I enter and say:
Me: Isn't it gorgeous outside?
Stranger: Um, sure, yeah, I guess.
Me: We are so lucky to be able to walk into this office and stand in an elevator, aren't we?
Stranger: Um, sure.
Me: Really, if you think about all the people who cannot walk and stand, who rely on elevators, when we both know we were just too lazy to take the stairs, this is quite a feat. And we take this for granted.
Stranger: *clears throat, mumbles* Yeah. *Looks at feet, checks the door quickly, returns gaze to feet*

Here is the conversation I would most likely have:
Me: Hi, thanks for holding the door. What floor are you going to?
Stranger: Third. The lab.
Me: Ouch. i hope you aren't taking a blood test.
Stranger: I am. I hate blood tests. I hate needles and i hate waiting so long for them to call my name.
Me: Seriously. And they are so rude! Can you believe the way they boss you around? One lady told me I was a baby and I need to "get over it!"
Stranger: yeah, but with health insurance...what can you expect?
Did you see that? We bonded over hatred and annoyance. It is the cultural norm to complain but not to praise or enjoy. Pathetic.

Let's all start a positivity revolution! Instead of complaining, at least five times a day replace the complaint about to fly out of your mouth with something positive. Challenge yourself to find it. This is the type of obnoxiously positive advice my fiance has given me, and here I am passing it along. It has helped me, though. He would be shocked to think of me as the leader of a positivity revolution!

That is what it is like to live East of Eden. It is beautiful and so close to perfection, but completely taken for granted. All we want is perfection, and we never stop to appreciate how great it is to be this close to it. The grass is always greener in our minds, but our own grass looks pretty damn good. Appreciate! Enjoy! Smile!