This I Believe
I believe in somewhere else. I believe in the ability to remove myself from reality and drift away into wherever or whenever I would rather be. There are so many places in this world or others that seem more enjoyable than where I am at the moment, that it can be hard at times to find any importance in what I do with my life. Life can be so much less than we expect it to be, but somewhere else never disappoints. Whether it comes from a book, movie, video game or music, nothing brings more joy to a weary or simply bored mind than the seductive allure of the unknown.
The fact of reality is that nothing is ever perfect. Our present situation, no matter how great, is never exactly what we wanted it to be. We compromise for less, and less, until we eventually give up on what our original goal even was. The disappointment of our world can be subtle, and sometimes we don’t even realize it, but reality never holds the luster or shine that it had when it was somewhere else. It is said that the anticipation of something can be better than actually receiving it, but I believe that deep down we already knew that it wasn’t what we really wanted. It was a compromise, a close approximation of the desired object, and the reception only proves a fact that was already understood by our subconscious.
These are the reasons why I always try to remain somewhere else. By immersing myself in the perfect lives of the imaginary, I can let go of the compromises in my own life and revel in the beautiful perfection of the fairy tale. Characters can be given immaculate lives, scripted excellence no matter the odds. Impossible is non-existent in the eyes of the character, because nothing but the limits of imagination can stop him from achieving his dream. The Hollywood American Dream, and the Promised Land always disappoint in the end. But we still accept our losses and move on with our lives, despite the fact that we already know that we can never live up to our own childhood expectations.
Somewhere else will always be sacred to me because I can control it, craft the perfection to my needs and enjoy a happiness that no sentient being could ever truly feel. I can relax my senses and drift off into my own personal somewhere else, where I am freed from the constraints and judgments of society. Our fantasies are wonderful and true because we can really feel the beauty of the impossible, even if the only beauty our dreams really hold is the fact that they can’t be reached. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, it’s the same shade everywhere, and nothing we can do will ever truly convince ourselves otherwise. Accepting the shortcomings of our world is hard, but at least we can always enjoy somewhere else, whenever we need it, always there to comfort us.