148. Leavers

People leave. People stay. People come back. I respect their decision. Well, not every decision. There’s a few who seem to want to get away from themselves. Like a 90’s movie hacker they want to change their location rapidly so they are not traced. But they’re their own FBI. 

The thing is, as many axioms proclaim, you can’t outrun your own dumb ass. If you are not happy where you currently have a social network, what makes you think you will find happiness in a new place? I only truly have faith in people who are content with themselves when making the choice to leave. Then it is about an adventure, not about placing your salvation into the not-within-you.

In my life, of the people I know who said they wanted to leave:

3 out of 5 never left, but kept complaining.
1 out of 5 left and come back, with lessons learned.
1 out of 5 succeeded in finding a better life elsewhere.

Unless you are a Venezuelan, in which case 4 out of 5 of us successfully left that decaying soil; out of sheer necessity. Most of us left a big old chunk of heart interred there, however. We all not-so-secretly wish to see its sun-kissed shores again, and reclaim that chunk.

The first time I left Venezuela, I wasn’t ready. My monsters chased me right where I went. The second time, I was a bit more empowered with self-love and confidence (plus the extra motivation of my home country dissolving before my eyes). I have learned to cohabit with my monsters. Subdued, they still live in my periphery, waiting for their chance.

Extra panel; The grass is always whiter.