The Sunday Succulent - March 10, 2024
Reflections
Bienvenidos to The Sunday Succulent.
This week, I had a breakthrough.
No, I didn’t start dreaming in Spanish. And I haven’t quite finished mapping out the definitive equation to end human suffering. (Although I reckon proper sleep gets us a disproportionate amount of the way there.)
But I do now understand how dogs respond to human language.
Dogs acknowledge commands and their names not because they comprehend the meaning behind the word but because they learn to associate certain words and gestures with specific actions.
Obvious? Probably. True? I don’t know; I’m not a dog scientist.
But whether right or wrong, here’s how I know it to be fact.
While I was walking down the street, I overheard a local telling their dog to “vámonos.” This sort of thing always lifts my spirits. The idea of Spanish-speaking dogs will never not be funny to me.
As far as I was concerned, this encounter ended there. If I was still thinking about it, the thoughts were beyond the reach of my conscious awareness.
That is, until my subconscious connected the dots a little later at the gym. As my trainer shouted “codo,” I instinctively responded with a small step forward followed by a rear hand horizontal elbow to the pad. At the time, I had no idea “codo” translated to “elbow,” but I had been conditioned to perform that movement upon hearing that word.
In this way, I intuited how dogs hear humans.
Who knew that increased empathy for our four-legged companions would be an unintended byproduct of failing to grasp the Spanish language? Checkmate.
A weekend of reflection
There were two activities this weekend, which paired together, inspired reflection.
The first was a Friday night trip to a hole-in-the-wall gyro kitchen. I hesitate to use “restaurant” to avoid giving the wrong impression. The establishment consists of a kitchen and two foldaway tables, which make up the outdoor-only seating area, a fact which will be revisited in a moment.
I went because I had met the proud owners, a Soviet-era Armenian couple, earlier in the week and promised to stop by.
That and the fact this place was rumored to have the best gyros in Buenos Aires. (Though when I mentioned this to the owner, he quickly corrected the last part to “en el mundo.”)
I was glad I went. Horacio and Anna couldn’t have been more hospitable. And the gyro was really good.
But as the wind picked up and started to drive the rain diagonally onto the only seating area at my disposal, all the while I was following along with friends’ plans back home via our group text, it seemed like as good a time as any to reflect on why I was choosing to live 5,000+ miles from home.
Exploring the Recoleta Cemetery the following afternoon accentuated this feeling.
The cemetery is home to 4,691 above-ground vaults containing the remains of many of Argentina’s most prominent figures.
Seeing these former (…obviously) heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and other once-world-renowned individuals as bones in a box, I naturally revisited the thought of how I was spending my precious time on Earth.
So, with Socrates’ famous quote, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” on my mind, I found a nearby patio, ordered some empanadas and a beer to wash down all the death, and jotted down a few notes.
Here are some main reasons I’ve decided to be without a home base indefinitely.
Pattern Interrupt
Here is what I said in "The Sunday Succulent – November 30, 2022" from Mexico City:
Before I left Indy, a close friend asked me why I wanted to come down to Mexico (and his wife quipped I should go to a therapist instead — fair point).
One of the reasons I gave him was that it would be an opportunity to pattern interrupt from normal routine. We're all conditioned by our culture and upbringing, and I started catching myself operating on autopilot. After 29 years, everything from belief systems to standard interactions had begun to calcify.
This was a chance to do a sort of reset.
I was excited to encounter new situations and observe how I handled them.
Aside from being a year older, the sentiment holds.
Personal Circle of Order
Growth happens when we straddle the border between order (familiarity) and chaos (new experiences).
As we continue to expand our Personal Circle of Order™, otherwise known as our comfort zone, we increase our agency as an individual.
Travel is but one of an infinite number of ways to accomplish this.
Enhanced Perception and Observation
In novel situations, our perception is enhanced. As environments become familiar and routine, our perception loses force. This is a feature, not a bug. Our brain is hardwired to conserve energy. But sometimes, it’s fun to throw that sucker into high gear and rev up the five senses.
This also applies to observation of the self.
“And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”
Prior to semi-moving abroad, I thought of travel more as an escape from reality than immersion into a new reality. Rather than constrain myself to a little corner of the world, I want to encounter as much of its natural beauty and diversity of cultures as I reasonably can.
This all can be tied up neatly with a quote from The Alchemist.
“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”
(If those all sound too high-minded and grandiose, you might be happy to hear that the world-class steak and wine, cost of living, proximity to other destinations, and opportunity to continue learning Spanish “poco a poco” also influenced my decision.)
Help needed!
My gym has begun asking me for song recommendations.
So, I’ve started a playlist called “Gringo Workout” (see below) to share with them. Please let me know which certified workout bangers I am missing.
The weight of America rests on our shoulders.