Knowledgeman

Am I the only person who thinks obsessively about where they want to live?

I guess I know of at least one other person, Denise. She wrote a post about it this morning. I liked the comment that flwrjane left:

What a good problem to have. My heart screams country while my head quietly insists on city.

She’s right, my heart and head don’t agree.  I trust them both equally, so that leaves me with my gut, who says “both.”  So what’s my problem?

West Marin is the best place I know for reflecting. When I work out here I find my mind often drifts to bigger picture questions, often questioning the necessity of the work I’m doing. Why am I doing this? Could I eliminate it or automate it? Would the world stop spinning if it didn’t do it or would I be fine, finding myself with more time for the things I love doing?

In the right proportions, this is a healthy process, one that most businesses and individuals don’t get enough of. In excess, I worry that too much reflection would lead to crippling inaction.

San Francisco is the best place I know for working. It pulses energy and entrepreneurialism. In San Francisco, almost everyone you meet has a crazy idea for a new business. Granted, most of them are either technology or food related,  but people in San Francisco know how to dream and execute, which might not fit with our stereotype. (While I’m defending San Francisco, please note that we don’t call our city “San Fran” or “Frisco.” “San Francisco” works just fine, as does “The City.”)

Where was I? Right, heart and head.

There’s a great piece of advice I came across when I started Knowledge Architecture, which was that the founder should work on the business, not in the business. Getting away from the city is the perfect way for me to work on the business. I came up with the idea for the company here, so it seems natural to return here to see the big picture. This summer I’ve been working on our first extensive research project. Again, easier for me to do research away from the city, far from the distractions of the office.

My head worries about getting too far away from the pace of the city. I worry that the country will make me soft, that I’ll lose my edge. I worry that I’ll become estranged from my team.

As I write this, I’m aware it seems that fear, especially when it comes to work, is what keeps me in San Francisco. That’s not true. I prefer the city in the winter. It gets dark early in winter. It also rains. The country can feel isolated and depressing by January, while the lights and crackle of the city are stimulating.

I’ve begun to wonder if the best solution would be to split our time equally between the two. May through October in the country, November through April in the city. The “growing season,” both literally and spiritually, might be best spent reflecting in the country. I miss our garden and I miss gardening, I did some of my best thinking while watering or weeding. Besides, it’s cold in San Francisco during the summer. (Smart ass tip from a local #2:  Mark Twain didn’t say “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”)

Anyhow, enough about me. Does anyone else wrestle with these questions?