Monday, August 18, 2008

Why it is easier to ruin it

When something is really good and we know we have to give it up, we try to ruin it. It is a self-defense mechanism, so that amazing things become torture with no reason whatsoever. Just so it is easier to let go. When I had to leave Paris, I started thinking about everything I hated about that city, but it wasn't much. I magnified it though, remembering the exhuberant prices, the smelly subway, the cold mornings, the ugly parisian looks... later, when I got back to Gainesville, I remembered the good things again, and smiled.

Now it is different to remember bad things to try to trump the sadness, than to sabotage something good just because it has a deadline. That is what I try to do every time in Bogota. I think about everything I don't like about the city, the people, the life in general... and the truth is I love it. But loving it has always made leaving so much harder, that I decided to keep it neutral; to love it as a vacation spot. To never date someone here that I like too much nor find a job that I would love, nor visit my friend's universities to see if I would like them better. Having a double life means developing an ability to let go. I have it... I need to become pesimistic a few days before it's over simply to make it easier. I simply need to think that where I'm going is always better that the place i've left behind.

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