1. I used to get excited about skyscrapers, thinking that the more numerous and bigger they are, the more we are progressing. I don’t think like that way anymore. I like skyscrapers, but not so much that they form a concrete canyon down the main avenues. Buildings shouldn’t overwhelm the people who live and work in them.
2. I used to think that wild animals walking down your street was a sign of an unhealthy neighborhood. I don’t think like that way anymore. I live in the upper avenues of Salt Lake City, twelve blocks from downtown, and occasionally deer and moose inhabit our backyard. A mountain lion was captured in our neighborhood, and I saw a mangy looking fox walking down our street one day. I’d rather have that than a barren, quiet neighborhood where all you here are sprinklers going on at night.
3. I used to think living behind a guarded community was a sign of affluence. I don’t think that way anymore. I don’t want to be cut off from the larger community. I visited a home I lived in on the Palos Verdes Peninsula which was in a gated community. The trees and shrubbery and gates prohibit the outsider from enjoying the beautiful homes. When you live inside you are in a bubble. No one inside the bubble associates with one another. I didn’t like the isolation.
4. I used to think that living in a community of like minded people was what would make me content in life. You know, heaven on earth, Zion. I don’t think that way anymore. People who think alike are more likely to get caught by surprise when it comes and surprise always comes. I trust a neighborhood that has some democrat as well as republican campaign signs out in front. It’s more interesting to hear some foreign languages spoken, and some color mix, and at times a next door neighbor who bugs you ( a bit ). I like texture in the people around me.
5. I used to not want weeds growing on my property or anyone else’s property. I’m still like that. But I don’t need to have every hedge cut and trimmed to perfection. I like some natural looking plants and trees.
6. I’ve worked hard all my life to have great views from my balcony and living room. I have them. Now I need to remember to enjoy them.
7. I used to work in order to play. Now I work in order to work.
8. Facebook poses have now come to bite me. Candid real life shots interest me. Faking happiness through posed photos captures an artificial moment. What’s going on before that and after that is what I like.