A Visceral Reaction

Recently I was in the Buckhead Region of Atlanta for a conference. Buckhead is a rapidly growing part of Atlanta characterized by intense traffic jams, spectacular office towers, tall glassy hotels, fantastic restaurants and luxury shopping. Before I moved to Richmond almost a decade ago, I lived in suburban Norcross and commuted to Buckhead. Even at that time Buckhead was growing up, up, up with beautiful and strange office towers, road construction and a never ending array of retail stores.

Photo courtesy of “Cut to the Chase” on flickr! Licensed under a Creative Common License

During this visit I found myself wondering through Lenox Square Mall with some time on my hands. As I wondered around I notices a sense of uneasiness, a rapid pulse and total body agitation. Not normally subject to panic attacks and usually comfortable in almost any environment, I had to stand still and take stock of what was happening to me. Was I getting sick from my last meal? Was I having a panic attack? What was it that was causing me this discomfort? I tried to shake the feeling but was unable.

Determined to forge ahead and ignore this internal commotion I walked on and started to notice the overly intense consumerism, the projection of style over substance, the “in your face” onslaught of excessive everything. And then I had it. I myself had lived a sliver of this lifestyle that some so cherish in Buckhead, no that I cherished. Roaming the malls and luxury shops for that special Christmas or Birthday gift. Having to have that special something for someone that we all now don’t even remember what it was. Some useless trinket, some gadget that probably broke on Christmas day. Some memento now forgotten, lost in the piles of life’s stuff.

So there is was, this visceral reaction was to a former lifestyle and the realization that the road to happiness is not defined by what we have, but by what we are, by who we are, who we love and are loved by, and how we need to go about life grateful for our connections, our oneness. At this realization a sense of calming peace came about me and I knew that I was meant for me to be here and to realize that the journey is not always straight, not always true, but always telling if you are willing to listen.

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