Cultural Nuances

    It might seem odd, posing an investment portfolio manager within a cornfield. Professionals like him usually reside in urban or suburban areas. This man is cut from a different cloth. He prefers a rural lifestyle. His home is the state of Vermont.
    One of my best friends also lives in Vermont. He moved there after loosing a job near Boston, Massachusetts.
    He says there’s two types of people in Vermont. There’s New Yorkers who own second homes. Those people are wealthy. And there’s country folk of limited means. Many of those country folk earn their livings by performing maintenance jobs for the New Yorkers.
     My friend doesn’t fit in as a resident of Vermont. He’s not rich like the New Yorkers. And his outlook towards life is more cosmopolitan than the rural people. When he retires, my friend will return to Massachusetts.
    And now for my take on Vermont: My sense is that people there aren’t all that friendly. This don’t mean that Vermonters are hostile. They're just not as outgoing as people elsewhere in the nation. There’s an insularity to people in Vermont.
    Across the Connecticut River from Vermont is New Hampshire. That state also has large swaths of rural area. Those people are friendlier. I relate to strangers in New Hampshire better than strangers in Vermont.
    I made a similar differentiation while in Africa. The people I met in Zimbabwe were friendly and easy going. That attitude is common among the Shona Tribe. Then I crossed the Limpopo River to South Africa. No more Shona tribesman. People in South Africa seemed aggressive and less friendly.
    It’s been said that people everywhere are basically the same. In many ways they are. But there are noticeable differences.
    Some places are friendlier than others.

Seeking Inspiration

    The function room was a mess. Books and boxes lay all over the place. Volunteers, including myself, were setting up for the annual book sale at our town’s library. Second hand books had been donated by citizens.
    My eyes settled on the novel, East of Eden. Right away I purchased it. That work of literature, which I had read years ago, profoundly affected me.
    Most things in this world don’t have a far reaching affect on me. But now and then a book touches my soul. Other people—those who possess admirable characters—occasionally leave a mark on me. Sometimes they’re famous. Most of the time they’re not.
    Many people seek inspiration but few people inspire.

Resisting Greed

 Law firm solicitation (names and numbers etched out)

    Several weeks ago, a drunk driver crashed into my car. I was not injured. Insurance paid for the damages. The driver reimbursed me for nominal out of pocket expenses.
    And he apologized. As far as I was concerned, the matter was over and done with.
    Or so I thought.
    A few days ago, a law firm telephoned me. They wanted me to file a lawsuit against the driver. Another firm sent me a letter of solicitation (seen in the photo). One sentence included the words, ‘you may be entitled to recover money.’
   I won’t take the bait. To sue that driver for no other reason than money would represent greed.
   Greed is a sickness of one’s soul.

Versatile Happiness

    While attending school, this young woman participated in three sports. Her versatility used to be the norm for young athletes. Things have changed. Many youth now specialize in one sport. 
    Studies have shown that multi-sport athletes are happier. Single sports kids aren’t as happy; they’re under more pressure to excel.
    What about adults? Many of them possess one specialized skill. It’s usually related to their employment. Are these people less happy?
    I’ll bet people with multiple skills are happier than people with one skill. And it’s not just about work. For example, I know some women who knit for charity. Knitting is an additional skill. Those ladies seem happy with their lots in life. People with hobbies—and hobbies involve skills—also strike me as happy.
    Learning new skills, even if they’re unrelated to work, might improve our happiness.

Transitioning

    Mastering a skill requires a transition.
    For example, a girl at the Boston Common learned how to skate while clinging to a plastic seal. I never saw her skate unassisted. That’s okay. She needed more time to transition from a raw beginner to someone with a basic skill.
    Adults are no different. Education is required to learn a trade or profession. Going to school is a time consuming transition.
    My goal is to become a novelist. That means transitioning from photography to writing. I’ve spent thousands of hours learning how to write. I’m still unpublished. I’m still transitioning. I’m okay with that.
    Some people skip transitions. For example, anyone without writing experience can pen a novel. Anyone can upload such a novel to a book retailing website. But would the book find commercial success? Probably not. The writing would be subpar. The author wouldn’t have learned the craft of writing. Time wasn’t allocated for a transition.
    Ten years from now, that girl in the photo might compete at the Winter Olympics. One never knows. She might even win a gold medal. If so, her success would have begun with a plastic seal and a transition.

Managing Stimuli

    On the subway, a man covered his ears and closed his eyes. He was tired. It was evening rush hour last Friday. The city was Boston.
    Before zoning out, the man had stared into a smartphone. His mind grew weary from a day’s worth of stimuli.
   While traveling, I minimize exposure to the internet. The same applies to music and the radio. Fewer distractions keeps my mind sharp. Fewer diversions enables me to better observe the nuances of people and settings. Creative ideas are more apt to sprout. Less consumption of media helps me as a writer and as a photographer.
    Once I drove from Worcester, Massachusetts to Cleveland, Ohio. Twelve hours. Not once did I listen to the radio or play music. Just me, the road, and my thoughts.
    That trip was boring.
    There’s a lot of cool and creative stuff online. But at some point it all becomes too much. When we over-expose ourselves to creativity, we become less creative.

Degrees of Friendliness

    While hiking on the Camino de Santiago, I encountered a married couple. They were pilgrims walking across Spain. Attached to the woman’s outfit was a flag of Brittany, a region of France where they lived.
    The Camino attracts pilgrims from all over the world. It’s like hiking in a melting pot. On one occasion, I engaged in a heartfelt conversation with a man from Hungary. On other occasions, I hiked beside people from Japan, Switzerland, and Netherlands, to name just a few.
    Most of the time, however, I hung out with fellow Americans. I found them to be among the most affable. The same friendliness was exhibited by pilgrims from South Africa, Ireland, and Australia.
    By contrast, many French pilgrims were rude and argumentative. People from Quebec, a province of Canada, also seemed aggressive. Englishmen came across as cynical. There were exceptions. That couple from Brittany couldn’t have been nicer.
    My journey across Spain reinforced a notion I’ve formed during other trips. The friendliest travelers in the world hail from South Africa, Ireland, Australia, and the United States.