Ko sem prvič prišla v Ljubljano, sem bila popolnoma prevzeta. Vsakič, ko sem stopila na prosto, sem občutila, kot bi vstopila v čarobni svet. Tu sem dva meseca in ta občutek počasi bledi. Zaljubljena sem v mesto, ampak je postalo del mojega vsakdana. Ni več nujno, da je vsak dan dogodivščina zase. Toda zadnji vikend sem dobila obisk, ki mi je ponovno odprl oči. Premišljevala sem, kaj vse želim prijateljici pokazati, in to me je pripeljalo do spoznanja: obstaja razlog, da se zdi trava pri sosedih vedno bolj zelena.
Naj pojasnim. Ko sem prvič prišla v eno izmed ljubljanskih kavarn, sem se zagovorila s prijaznim natakarjem približno moje starosti. Ko sem mu omenila, da sem iz ZDA, je takoj rekel: »Ljubim Ameriko.« Nato mi je začel razlagati, da se želi nekega dne preseliti tja. V tistem trenutku sem bila šokirana. Nisem mogla premagati misli, da je malo nor. Mladenič živi v pravljičnem kraju, želi pa se preseliti v ZDA? Ne razumite me narobe, obožujem svojo domovino. Tam je moj dom. V tistem trenutku le nisem dojela, zakaj si želi zapustiti Ljubljano. Seveda je v tem veliko smisla in logike. Tako kot obstaja veliko čudovitih stvari v Sloveniji, jih je precej tudi v Ameriki. Ena izmed teh je na tisoče različnih univerz, razkropljenih po vseh Združenih državah. Možnosti različnih študijev so tako rekoč neomejene. Predstavljam si, da je to eden izmed razlogov, da si mladenič želi preselitve. Zanimivo je, da me to dejstvo ne fascinira, saj sem zrasla v takem okolju. To je le nekaj, kar je vedno bilo tam. Spoznala sem, da so okoliščine tiste, ki vplivajo na našo zaznavo, razmišljanje in želje. Tako kot predstava o mnogih šolah ne budi v meni posebnih občutkov, tudi domačinu v Ljubljani pogled na Ljubljanski grad ne prikliče solz v oči.
Lahko je reči, »bodi zadovoljen s tem, kar imaš«, toda živeti po tem principu je nekoliko težje. Sanje, upi, inspiracija in delo za nekaj, kar si res želimo, so zelo pomembni za dosego želenega cilja. Toda le upati na boljše in lepše dni, je škodljivo. Zato sanjajte veliko, trdo delajte za želeno in naredite vse, kar je v vaši moči, da bi dosegli cilj, vendar tudi cenite, kjer trenutno ste in kar imate. Kamor koli boste že šli, bo prej ali slej postalo navada. Čeprav se sliši klišejsko, se poskušajte navaditi normalnega.
Odgovor, zakaj se pri sosedih trava zdi vedno bolj zelena, je, ker za svojo ne skrbimo redno. Toda potrudite se negovati svojo zelenico. Presenečeni boste, kako se bo spremenilo tudi vaše zaznavanje sveta.
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| Foto: Shutterstock |
Angleški izvirnik
The Greener Grass
I had a thought the other day, and I want to share it with you. When I first got here to Ljubljana, I was in total awe. Every time I walked outside I felt like I had just walked into a magical place. Now I've been here for two months, and that feeling has worn off a bit. I love this city, but now it's just part of my everyday life. It's not necessarily a crazy adventure every day anymore. But this weekend my friend came to visit, and that gave me a bit of a fresh perspective. I started thinking of all the exciting things I wanted to show her, and that made me realize something: there is a reason that the grass always seems greener on the other side.
Let me explain. When I first got here, I started talking to a guy in a café who was around my age. I told him I’m from America, and the first thing he said was, “I love America.” He then went on to tell me that he hopes to move to America one day. At the time I was totally taken aback. I couldn't help but think that he was nuts. I mean, this kid lives in a place that fairy tales are made of, but he wants to move to America? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the United States. It's my home. I just couldn't understand why he would want to leave. But of course, it makes sense. Just like there are great things about Slovenia, there are great things about America. One of those things is that we have thousands upon thousands of universities across the country. I imagine that is one of the reasons that young man wants to move to the States. Education is available to so many people, and there are so many options on where to go and what to study. It’s amazing, but because I grew up in the States, I’ve always just taken this for granted. There’s nothing all that special about all those universities to me—it’s just something that’s always been there. So I realized something: while I sat dreaming about magical, romantic experiences that I would have somewhere in Europe, some kid here in Ljubljana was dreaming about those same experiences in the States. I've come to learn that our circumstances are a large part of what determines our perceptions and aspirations. If the idea that America has thousands of colleges doesn't create feelings of shock and awe in me, then of course a teenager living in Ljubljana isn't going to be moved to tears on a daily basis by the medieval castle in the middle of his city.
It's easy to say, “be happy with what you have,” but living that principle is much harder. Dreaming, hoping, aspiring, and working for something that you want is really important to accomplishing worthwhile things in life. But pining for those better days is only damaging. So dream big, work hard, and do whatever else is necessary to get where you want to go, but appreciate where you are as well. Wherever you go, life will always become just life after a while. It can still be wonderful, but it always becomes normal at some point. So, as cliché as it may sound, you have to learn to appreciate the normal.
The reason that the grass is always greener on the other side is because we let the grass get yellow where we are. But the grass doesn't have to get yellow. Pay a bit more attention to it, and try watering it every once in a while. I bet you'll be surprised how your perceptions change.
