Yesterday someone asked me if I like living in Phoenix. I couldn’t lie — I have a love / hate relationship with this city.
I love the Sonoran Desert and the saguaros and the rugged mountains and the sweeping valleys. I love the sunsets and the summer thunderstorms and mild winter weather. I love the little slices of history and the family-owned Mexican food restaurants and the murals and the non-mainstream culture where you can find it.
I hate the sprawl and the never-ending sea of suburbs and the market domination by corporate chains. I hate the light pollution and the rush-hour traffic and the fact that if I choose the wrong direction, I’ll drive through city for 90 minutes before I reach nature. I hate the over-sized pickup trucks and the Let’s Go Brandon bumper stickers and that the fact half my neighbors think it’s just dandy that our democracy is imploding for the sake of “owning the libs”.
But I have to remind myself that I mostly live a charmed life. I have a wonderfully supportive wife and a smart, kind, beautiful daughter and parents that are always there for me. I live in a house with a reasonable mortgage payment in a (boringly) safe neighborhood. I get paid to share history and nature with tourists and take photos of beautiful places and write things on the internet.
So while Phoenix ain’t perfect, I’d still rather be here than most other places. My heart belongs in the Southwest and hey, living outside the big city would come with its own challenges. I can’t change the traffic or the sprawl but I can keep putting love and kindness and truth out into the world, because that’s what fills my heart and soul.
Wherever you may be, if you’re facing your own frustrations, don’t forget to look at the bigger picture. Because for every afternoon traffic jam, there’s usually a beautiful sunset on the horizon.
-Jake
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