Who needs a house out in Hackensack?

Is that all you get for your money?

Thank you, Billy Joel. You've been in constant play in my car for over a month now. The words leading up to that: "Mama Leone left a note on the door, it said Sonny, move out to the country. Working too hard can give you a heart attack..." A house in the country? Is that all you get for your money? "If that's movin' up then I'm movin' out." Yeah, this gets me thinking. Moving up? What IS moving up? For what are we striving? What's the fight, here? The struggle? What is the goal?

This is something with which we all wrestle, of course. I've been thinking about it more because my husband and I are planning our Great Escape. We are done with the city, we are done with Los Angeles, and we are heading back to a simpler, quieter life. So, I've been wondering if I have failed at the "Goals", if I am turning tail and fleeing back to my hometown, if I am not a "success". So now, we must define these terms. What IS success? Chasing money so we can buy things? Or is it a nice, comfortable house with a garden outside, and time to enjoy it? Bigger house, more expensive car, more stuff??? Is that what I am supposed to want?

It's not. I WANT to dig in the Earth in the summer, I WANT to can and jar my own stuff and live where there is less traffic and especially less noise. And most of all, less people. Many less people. I'm sure it won't be perfect, and it won't be easy, but it'll be quieter. Because I just don't get it. Is it me? What do we want out of life? What IS progress? More debt, more storage more crap? Maybe I'm getting old-fashioned in my middle age, but I don't see the point to that. Wasn't technology supposed to give us the time and ease to improve OURSELVES? I don't see that happening. We're not getting smarter, that's for sure. We are not being better stewards of the planet, that's for DAMNED sure. We're working harder, that's for sure. But I don't know why. Can someone answer that? I want time to read, to write, to get dirt under my fingernails. Do you think we can turn this all around, or are we all just going to keep on the path of destroying this place we live in/on?

Yeah, I'm dropping out. And I consider THAT to be progress. I want to be in a community where I am adding something positive. I don't want to be just another rat on the wheel. I want to enjoy the simple pleasures again. My grandparents worked hard, sure they did. But they had a nice house and good values. Can we get back to that? I'm sure going to try.

What say YOU? Does this make sense at all? What do you see as progress?

My brain is in a twist these days. Love to hear what you think...