The grass is always greener

One of the great mysteries of life and one of the greatest blockages to achieving Santosha is the human tendency toward wanting things that we do not have just because we do not have them. This idea of "the grass is always greener" is my Achilles heel.

Before I began teaching, I toiled away at the Open Eye making coffee/espresso drinks, waking up at 6 am every morning and chatting people up in an effort to get them drop a buck in the tip jar. All I wanted was a "real" job. A nine to five that I could go to, feel respected for my work, and wear normal clothes and not go home smelling like coffee everyday.

Now, I have a day job. I don't smell like coffee. I even feel important sometimes. Yet, still I dream of going back to coffee. I romanticize the laid back atmosphere and long to see the old regulars. I also dream of moonlighting as a bartender. I'd make a hell of a lot more money than I do now, and drunk people might be fun to mess with.

But then, would I only long to go back to teaching? Would my hair stink and my feet hurt? Would I glorify the vacations, the kids, the health insurance? Yes. Yes, I would.


So, what is the take away here? Be happy where you are? Appreciate that you have what you thought you wanted?

Santosha. Contentment. That is what it is.

And, awareness is the first step.