I just returned from the east coast a few days ago, and had a wonderful time. It doesn’t hurt that I get to be accompanied by the best traveling companion in the world.

I never lose sight of the fact that it is always good to get out of ones comfort zone. Remind yourself that this is just one place, and is actually quite different than other places.

You don’t have to leave the country to realize this. Have you been to the deep south? The Southwest? The Northeast? Los Angeles? I rest my case. One of my favorite stories is when my family was visiting another part of the country (let’s just forget where it was), and after a meal, my daughter asked an employee where the recycling was.

The employee laughed

Ever seen any episodes of ‘Portlandia”? How about the one where they are asking about the chicken, where it came from, its name, etc.  So Portland.

Not the rest of the country

We live in a bubble. A bubble that I like, but a bubble nonetheless. Most of the country does not care about where their food comes from. They don’t worry about reduce, reuse, recycle. Just step outside of Multnomah County.

Sure, there are pockets–mostly urban–of places that do care that their food travels almost 5,000 miles before making it in to their kitchen table. People who realize that we have a finite amount of resources available to us. But, Portland has specialized in it.

Not just about recycling

And it is not all about recycling and where the food comes from. Different attitudes about things. I was in Charleston, South Carolina, a few months back, and boy was I aware of how differently they view the world there as compared to my progressive neighborhood.

It’s all good

So, I say, live in your bubble. Enjoy what we have here, but constantly remind yourself that things are different everywhere, and don’t take everything so seriously.