And so it begins. Again.

I’ve been to Southern California many times on business and vacation. This flight, however, differs, as today’s trip is to move there. I’ve boarded the noon flight to Los Angeles and it appears it will land right on time – give or take 30 years. 

With two suitcases stuffed with clothes in cargo, and my trusty laptop on my back I am making the 2,200 miles trip cross country to start a new life. Not for a new love or new job, nor was my current job transferring me but solely because I felt it was time to make “the” move.  As a gold member of the procrastination club, the airline ticket, hotel reservation, and car rental were made yesterday am on the plane to the City of Angeles. I have no idea where I will live, and oddly it seems like an after thought.

Not more than two months ago I decided to give almost everything I owned away, uproot from friends and move for a variety of reasons I will go into in future columns. Saying that planets aligned may be a bit much, but timing had everything to do with my decision. It wasn’t a matter of running away or running from, but rather a longing to pursue a lifelong dream while still of sound mind and body.  (Believe me, at this age my body makes lots of sounds.)

It’s not the first time I’ve made such a drastic change, but the last time was 16 years ago when I was the father of a toddler and a husband.  It was to give my family a better way of life. Now it’s more about living a better life that will hopefully inspire others to do the same. 

Now I suppose there must be an ex or two smirking with delight at my departure, but the overwhelming majority of those in my life were sad to lose their daily interaction with me. It is the reactions of friends, co-workers, and family to my seemingly unnecessary, even senseless move that has surprised me. When I informed them that I was giving away virtually everything I owned save a few boxes of trinkets and clothes and moving from my relatively cushy existence to a new one of uncertainty in my early 50s, not one thought it crazy.  Not a one expressed concern or voiced that my radical decision was a misguided one.  The reactions varied from being happy for me to being down right envious.

I believe this is all part of a paradigm shift in the collective consciousness.  Certainly in this post-911 world we have promoted happiness over all else, as such a decision to uproot 30 or even 20 years ago would have met with the negative skepticism I expected.  Today, chasing a dream at any age now seems less quixotic and more hypnotic.  And my decision to do so, never seemed more enthralling.  A “relatively cushy existence” as I called it before is no longer the overwhelming goal as it is the antithesis of why we are here.