I've been listening to the following song on repeat now for weeks....
The Lady Gaga ARTPOP album is amazing and full of incredible songs to dance to, feel to and think to. The song"Gypsy" allows me to do all three.
The lyric "I don't wanna be alone forever, but I love gypsy life" is particularly powerful to me. I certainly don't want to be alone, but I also don't want to give up this exciting and dynamic life I am currently living. I am not yet ready or willing to make those kinds of sacrifices I see my married friends making right now. The longer I live in Saudi and remain surrounded by married couples, the more I contemplate the purpose of marriage and wonder why so many people subscribe to getting married when it seems to result in living a life tainted by disappointments and compromise. True, I do not have first hand experience of this. I just have my third person (and if I may say so, objective) observations. People tend to complain more than they compliment so perhaps I am only getting a limited perspective of marriage. However, I find it interesting that every married person I have talked with about marriage or relationships (both men and women) has given me the exact same piece of advice: "Don't rush into it....you've got time....have fun and enjoy your life....you don't need to get married right now.....enjoy your life".
Hmm, if the majority of married couples are telling me to hold off on marriage to "enjoy my life", does that therefore imply that married life is not enjoyable?
I moved to Saudi Arabia for a number of reasons: excitement, adventure, opportunity, growth, financial security....but the most important reason was for love. I needed to come back to this country I had fallen in love with as a child in order to restore balance in my life. I needed to get away from the safe and comfortable existence I had shaped for myself in Boston and live independently and learn how to love myself again.
Loving oneself is incredibly difficult. In this day and age we are taught to seek fulfillment outside of ourselves - in our work, our relationships, our economy. We live in an age of unlimited information where a myriad of lives are able to be openly accessed and analyzed. In recent months I have had ten friends announce engagements, four announce pregnancies, five announce new job opportunities and six declare themselves as formally "in a relationship" on Facebook. In addition to those traditional life milestones, people are constantly announcing all the places they've travelled, foods they've eaten, weight they've lost and books they've read. I know because I am one of them. I will admit that I get a great deal of pleasure in sharing my life with others, yet it was not until I started reading the blogs and statuses of friends and strangers that I noticed how detrimental reading all of this information was. Though I relished in the joy of my friends achieving their dreams, I was subconsciously comparing myself and my life to theirs.
Love must come from within.
Success must come from within.
Happiness must come from within.
If we are constantly comparing ourselves and our standards of success to one another, there is no way our society will progress.
It is important to support others and cheer one another on as we struggle to shape and live our lives, but one must never lose sight of the fact that in the end, you are your greatest asset. You are the love of your life. You are the pinnacle of your success.
I don't wanna be alone forever
But I love gypsy life
I don't wanna be alone forever
Maybe we can see world together
I don't wanna be alone forever
But I can be tonight, tonight
.....But who ever said being alone was a bad thing?
*Image: katfashionslave.tumblr.com
The lyric "I don't wanna be alone forever, but I love gypsy life" is particularly powerful to me. I certainly don't want to be alone, but I also don't want to give up this exciting and dynamic life I am currently living. I am not yet ready or willing to make those kinds of sacrifices I see my married friends making right now. The longer I live in Saudi and remain surrounded by married couples, the more I contemplate the purpose of marriage and wonder why so many people subscribe to getting married when it seems to result in living a life tainted by disappointments and compromise. True, I do not have first hand experience of this. I just have my third person (and if I may say so, objective) observations. People tend to complain more than they compliment so perhaps I am only getting a limited perspective of marriage. However, I find it interesting that every married person I have talked with about marriage or relationships (both men and women) has given me the exact same piece of advice: "Don't rush into it....you've got time....have fun and enjoy your life....you don't need to get married right now.....enjoy your life".
Hmm, if the majority of married couples are telling me to hold off on marriage to "enjoy my life", does that therefore imply that married life is not enjoyable?
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| Packed bags. Always ready to go... |
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| My frequent view of the world, from the wings of an iron angel.... |
I moved to Saudi Arabia for a number of reasons: excitement, adventure, opportunity, growth, financial security....but the most important reason was for love. I needed to come back to this country I had fallen in love with as a child in order to restore balance in my life. I needed to get away from the safe and comfortable existence I had shaped for myself in Boston and live independently and learn how to love myself again.
Loving oneself is incredibly difficult. In this day and age we are taught to seek fulfillment outside of ourselves - in our work, our relationships, our economy. We live in an age of unlimited information where a myriad of lives are able to be openly accessed and analyzed. In recent months I have had ten friends announce engagements, four announce pregnancies, five announce new job opportunities and six declare themselves as formally "in a relationship" on Facebook. In addition to those traditional life milestones, people are constantly announcing all the places they've travelled, foods they've eaten, weight they've lost and books they've read. I know because I am one of them. I will admit that I get a great deal of pleasure in sharing my life with others, yet it was not until I started reading the blogs and statuses of friends and strangers that I noticed how detrimental reading all of this information was. Though I relished in the joy of my friends achieving their dreams, I was subconsciously comparing myself and my life to theirs.
Love must come from within.
Success must come from within.
Happiness must come from within.
If we are constantly comparing ourselves and our standards of success to one another, there is no way our society will progress.
It is important to support others and cheer one another on as we struggle to shape and live our lives, but one must never lose sight of the fact that in the end, you are your greatest asset. You are the love of your life. You are the pinnacle of your success.
I don't wanna be alone forever
But I love gypsy life
I don't wanna be alone forever
Maybe we can see world together
I don't wanna be alone forever
But I can be tonight, tonight
*"Gypsy" lyrics by Lady Gaga
.....But who ever said being alone was a bad thing?
With a life full of self-love, you are never alone.
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