Sunshine and Olly

by Jonathan Blaustein

This is a weird one to write.

(It’s funny how honesty works.)

Lately, the posts that have been really raw, just coming from a place deep within my soul…

…they’ve drawn the best response.

When I use Sunshine and Olly as art, by saying the things that are desperate to get out of my body, it’s created conversation.

(Best case scenario, really.)

And those posts are NOT hard to write.

The energy leaps out of me, through my fingers on the keyboard. There’s a compulsion to the process, those days.

A physical need.

This one, though, I’ve planned to write.

Planned to share.

But it’s much trickier.

Because it involves my hopes and dreams, not just my inner turmoil.

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The truth is, this is not news to people who know me IRL.

(Or some with whom I’ve been in direct digital contact.)

But it is not something I’ve shared publicly, even though I’ve been cooking it up for a few months.

After 19 years here in Taos, my family and I are planning to move.

To leave the only home my kids have ever known.

We’re headed West.

To Southern California.

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I don’t know why typing that out is so hard.

Maybe it makes it feel more real?

Raises the stakes?

Probably not.

Probably, it’s just the inner fear that comes out when one makes such big moves.

But given what I’ve shared here over the past 16 months, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise.

I’ve written about career changes, and hinted at the massive gentrification taking place in Taos.

(All over the West, in many cases.)

Back when I used to travel all the time, and Taos was a smaller place, I could imagine living here forever.

All along, though, it felt isolated.

Living in the quiet, with nature an intimate part of your daily life, is amazing.

It’s given me and my family a platform to become our best selves.

But living far from everywhere, forever, is a bit extreme.

Plus, I grew up at the beach, and have lived 1000 miles from one since 2005.

Fuck that shit.

Give me some ocean.

ASAP!

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So that’s what today’s short post is about.

Making moves is often about getting your mind right.

Understanding the larger playing field, and your position on it.

Sometimes, even though it’s super-scary, we have to make decisions on faith.

On belief.

Optimism can be hard to come by, in 2024.

So if you can find any, and you see some light up ahead, maybe head that way and see what’s there?

Catch you next time.