Beyond The Doom And Gloom
An old friend, Lee Harrison, writing for International Living yesterday, articulated a sentiment that I think many share.
Lee is in the States for a holiday visit. “It feels like it must be my patriotic duty to be stressed, like everyone else,” he explains. “But I’m not…”
I was in the States a few weeks ago, for Thanksgiving, and I had the same thought. Family and friends I spent time with were worried…and worse. They spoke of money concerns, market concerns, the War on Terror, the War in Iraq, the national debt, rising costs, escalating unemployment rates, shrinking 401(k) accounts…
They spoke of these things and of little else. They watched Fox News and CNN continuously. They were consumed with “how bad things are…”
Back here in Panama, we’re removed from all that worry and all that stress. The truth is, here in Panama, things don’t seem so bad. The city is decorated for the season…the malls are full of happy shoppers…the streets are alive with a spirit of fiesta…
Here in Panama City, whatever stress we feel comes from the constant construction chaos. And in sleepy little El Valle over the weekend, we couldn’t remember any reason to be stressed at all.
Here’s my advice: Turn off your television. And shift your focus.
Stop thinking about crisis and debt, fighting and inflation. The world isn’t ending. Not really.
The truth is, in many places around the world, the living is pretty good.
Yes, even today, even right now, with everything that’s going on, some folks are managing to think beyond the doom and gloom.
Panama isn’t the only place, of course, where you could come to get away from “how bad things are” in the U.S. and elsewhere right now. Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Belize…all these places offer that opportunity.
But, frankly, Panama offers a chance for a new perspective…but a whole lot more, as well.
Which is why I’m keeping this dispatch brief today. We’re counting down to the release of our Launch Your New Life In Panama report, and, to tell you the truth, we’re running a little behind.
So I’m going to sign off. But I’ll be in touch again later.
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. Over the years, readers have asked, “Don’t you feel unpatriotic, living outside the States?”
No question, I’m an American. I carry that with me wherever I go. And I didn’t leave the States because I wanted to pretend otherwise.
America, remember, is the Land of Opportunity. And we Americans value nothing more than another chance and a new beginning.
Today, those ambitions lead us beyond our own shores. And, for the life of me, now with more than 10 years experience on the outside looking back, I can’t see what could be wrong with that…
