I’m typically not one for the heavy celebration of personal accomplishments, I’m typically more like pour a glass of really nice bourbon and enjoy the short-lived pleasure kind-of-guy.
Why do you ask? Because I suffer from this incurable disease called downplayititis. As much as setting and reaching goals is sweet in itself, as soon as one is reached, I think of the next one, and so on.
It’s a blessing and a curse because it’s really hard for me to recognize personal accomplishments (and I don’t like too much praise). I recently obtained my Canadian citizenship and this time, the accomplishment feels a little different.
Is it middle-aged maturity? Is it the goal in itself? I don’t know. I do know that this has been 16 years in the making (I know, I’m slow) and for some reason, it feels special. While I never quite felt at home in my home country, after 16 years in Canada, I have to admit that it feels more like home than anything else I’ve experienced before. Yes, it’s far from perfect, but when I look at what’s happening elsewhere in the world, I realize how truly blessed we are to live here in Canada.
It’s a beautiful, welcoming place that gives anyone ready to work hard a platform to build a great life and so having access to that opportunity somehow feels very sweet.
While I’ve always been interested in politics from a philosophical perspective, I’ve never been really political, much less involved in it, and always judged the political scene with a skeptical, dare I say, cynical eye. But becoming Canadian somehow changed all that.
There is a culture of dogged optimism, possibility, and civility in this country that one doesn’t find in many other places. It is a great place to live and that makes it worth preserving. Whether we share the same views politically, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that we can debate these things among civilized persons and just agree to live peacefully with one another.
In spite of what one may think, I still think that it’s possible if one ignores the grating and divisive nature of corporate and social media. There are still avenues for civilized debates about how to make this land even greater.
My message is this: the world hasn’t changed as much as we think. People are still people and if one ignores the noise, there is a lot to be optimistic about, but it’s more important to act than to speak (and write), so with these words of wisdom out of the way, I’m going to go find something meaningful to do.
I’m sorry to say, but you won’t get rid of me so easily now that I can truly call this place home.