The Grass Is Always Greener: A Syndrome

 

"Grass is Greener" Syndrome - noun - the thought that there is always something better elsewhere, so rather than experiencing security, stability, and satisfaction in the present environment, there is the feeling that there is more or better elsewhere, and anything less than ideal is not acceptable (psychcentral.com).

syndrome - noun - a condition characterized by a set of specific symptoms (Google). 

I learned something new today: the aforementioned syndrome, GIGS. Previously, I had thought 'The grass is always greener" was strictly a proverb that applied to some dreamers who have a difficult time committing to person, place, or thing, or accepting (figuratively) the type of grass or even weeds and their shades of green in their own backyards or spaces. (I read somewhere once that there are about three hundred hues of green, but humans can only perceive a fraction of them. Which might mean that the person suffering from the syndrome will more or less, never be satiated. And yes, I am trying to be witty here.) 

After just spending nearly a week in SoCal with my thirty-something daughter, I have come to the unsettling conclusion that she suffers from the malady, GIGS. Her life-long dream has always been to live in the Los Angeles area as her passion–anything and everything having to do with making movies–primarily lies there. Before deciding to attend UCLA for her MBA in the field of entertainment, she had lived and worked in New York City, yet another location associated with dreams and dreamers and the entertainment industry. She was contented for a relatively short period of time before she lost the occupation wielding contentment and was catapulted feet first into two other jobs, one after the other, that could never quite equal the first. Looking west, she saw blue skies (literally) and the potential for verdant professional landscapes that the "magical" albeit black-and-white New York could not give her on a regular basis. And Central Park just wasn't the answer in terms of providing the ultimate green space. Now that she is fully ensconced comfortably in LaLa Land, where everything seems to be quite perfect (except for the freeways and "crazy" drivers on them) and green since they have had a lot of rain this past year, she misses New York. Ugh. GIGS. 

Do you have an adult kid who has this syndrome, too? If so, what advice do you give him/her/them, or every time that said relation complains, do you just make a sour face and shrug exaggeratedly with frustration knowing that unless you are on FaceTime (or the equivalent), she or he or they can't see you?

Yet for every problem, there is a solution, or so sayeth this optimist. For my daughter, it might be to find a job that is consistently propelling her back and forth like a tug-of-war between the two locations, which is not impossible to find, apparently, since many communications-oriented companies have offices in both cities. I am praying she finds this solution as I am tired of the whining from her end and the unattractive grimaces and vehement shrugging on my end.

Hopefully, you, personally, are not a victim of GIGS. If you are, just remember "no matter where you go, there you are." 

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