I want to give my son the gift of will, space, and energy.
I want to give Calico the will, space, and energy to figure out himself and his life. If he has these things, it is much easier to create a meaningful life.
Will
The inner drive to dig into himself and figure out his shit so he can go in the direction he wants.
I want to make sure he doesn’t lose his will to look around, make sure he is in a good place, and if not, figure out why and make changes.
I am not sure how I can help instill this trait. It is something I think about a lot.
At his current age, Lindsey and I try to help him slow down, listen to his emotions as an advisor, think things through with his head, and figure out what he wants to do and why he wants to try that.
Lately, much of that process is spent trying to understand social situations and kids at school. I especially want to ensure he knows he is not a bystander in his own life. That doesn’t mean he always needs to take action, but I want him to know he is allowed to react. That is something I wish I had learned sooner.
Space
Having the freedom to live, think, and figure stuff out.
Energy
The strength and vitality to sustain physical and mental activity.
Space & energy are a big reason why I want to live in Europe.
In Europe, I think my son has a much better chance to have the space and energy to enjoy life, explore life, and figure himself out. And he is around people who also have this chance because, unlike the U.S.A., Europe tries to create this environment for all its citizens.
Europe does a much better job of balancing life and work. They provide real vacation time and real health care and generally try to create a good environment for their citizens (food quality, environmental protections, ability to pursue higher learning, low crime, and general quality of life).
Is Europe perfect?
Fuck no, there are problems with any system.
But they are doing about 100x better than the U.S.A. in this regard. The U.S.A. has given up on trying to improve the lives of its citizens.
Is it possible to achieve a good life in the USA? Sure, but it is much harder given the entire system is working against you. The U.S.A. has created a Hunger Games society that breeds a sick winner-takes-all mindset where the only goal is power and money. I want to live somewhere where people want everyone’s kids to succeed and have good lives.
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