It ain't pretty. But we keep doing it. It never ceases to amaze me: we all keep going through the same stuff, the same wrong moves, the same mistakes. Because we all have been constantly fed the same crap: we have to go to school, we have to get a job and work till we drop, we have to get married, we have to have children, we have to... No, we don't have to. Or, who knows, maybe we do. So much for freedom, I guess.

But this is not life. Or, if it is, it surely ain't a very pretty sight if I may say so. It looks more like a perpetual and boring succession of waking up, going to work, coming home, kissing the wife, hugging the children, kicking the dog off the couch, turning the TV on, drinking beer, going to bed, waking up... Oh, yeah, I forgot the Sunday barbecue. And the yearly vacation. We do the same things. Day after day. Year after year. Into the future.

So, what is one to do? I would say: if you can, try dropping out of the rat race, try putting an end to this mind numbing routine we've been led to believe that it's how life should be lived. Try keeping your options open. When it comes to countries, stocks, food, sex, jobs etc, diversifying is the name of the game.

That 8 to 5 job, that house in the suburbs, that wife and those kids, that SUV, that 40" TV, all those belongings you have surrounded yourself with for the past x years like a pack rat on crack cocaine... you don't have to own all those, you know. Unless, of course, you may want to find yourself being owned by them some day in the not so distant future.

So, you think this someone you just met is god's given gift to you, well, by all means, stay with her/him for a while if you feel like it. So, you think this whatever country you are currently in is better then others, enjoy your time here. So, you think this job is really something, go for it. So, you think this hobby of yours is great, indulge in it.

But don't lock yourself in. Don't enter a room you cannot easily get out of. Don't lock the door, leave it ajar instead, give yourself a way out, an escape route. There are many more countries, jobs, hobbies, (wo)men where those came from. Clinging to one and one only is not the way to go. You will miss out on all the others.

Don't let yourself slide along the easy path of lazy lifeless routine. Don't get attached, don't get tied down, be free to move on, keep it alive, keep it new, keep it interesting. Don't get trapped. Unfortunately one can so easily get trapped in a country, in a religion, in a marriage, in a language, in a job, in lifelong habits, in.... Don't. Otherwise, one day into the future, you'll look back and you won't like what you see. But then again maybe you will. Who am I to know!?