Hollywood or Burbs

I saw Revolutionary Road the other day. I hated it. Figures that Hollywood reveres a movie with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet portraying a miserable suburban couple. How trite, how boring, how cliché.

Basically this movie says "if you live in the burbs, you're pathetic and obviously sold out on your dreams ... you are undoubtedly living a lie. You should just kill yourself."

It suggests that if you have a family, you need to settle in the suburbs and make nice with the neighbors and play house. But of course this is such a horrid existence that you should argue with your spouse and blame your misery on them. You should make extravagant plans to escape to a foreign country where they've got life figured out and your existence actually means something to society. But if you can't make it happen, and there's no way out .... aborting your soon-to-be-miserable baby and killing yourself is definitely the way to go. It's the only humane thing to do.

Yes Hollywood, let's blame our crappy lives on the closely built houses and friendly neighbors. They're all just as miserable as we are anyway, right? However, let's NOT blame ourselves for getting married to the wrong someone too quickly. Let's NOT blame ourselves for our lack of family planning and let's certainly not blame ourselves for buying a house in a place where we weren't forced to. That's much easier than dealing with personal issues.

If my life were different and I weren't so dependent on a populated area, no I wouldn't be living in the suburbs. I'd be out on a ranch living on the land, and making the land work for me. There would be a stream within walking or horseback distance on my property and I'd go fishing every day. Sure that may be one of many dreams I have, but my happiness is not made or lost on that notion.

My happiness is made by me. My situations are not burdens, but rather purposes ... tests. I am happy because I choose to be happy. My heart does not rest in a building or on a piece of property. My heart rests within me and within those I love.

My home, is where my heart is. So we live in the suburbs for as long as it takes. And I am a-o-k with that.