Tranqui

«A living national treasure of the United States, Thomas Sowell has said “when things get better, they never get better for everyone” I think we often see “better” as having more good and being always more preferable in every way than the alternative. When we see a better job or look to move to a better life situation, we are looking for an improvement. The wiser among us understand that life has trade offs. While better does indeed exist, more often than not there are pros and cons to any given situation.

Living in the Interior of Uruguay with employees engaged in a business and listening to other employers, I’m getting a better understanding of why Uruguay is how it is, more specifically, why the people here make life better than in the United States and how that has pros and cons.

Our purpose here at Southern Shelter is your happiness. No one is happy when they are led to believe something that is not true only to find the truth after having made the purchase or moved their life. We don’t sell. We tell. If Uruguay is for you and you are for Uruguay, we are here to facilitate precisely your wants and needs solving for the incalculably number of “yea, but how do I do that”’s or as the website says “Making Your Better Life in Uruguay Actually Happen”. I think the “actually” is the key word. Actuality is truth, from understanding real life without judgment.

Here in Uruguay you may feel an indescribable calm. It’s more than simply “tranquilo” as a travel book might suggest. It is more akin to being in a group in which everyone is calm and even tempered. Reasonable and patient. It helps that in a country this small your behavior and reputation will become known and follow you, but the standard of tranquil living had to be at first set. How it stays returns us that idea of pros and cons. 

Coming from a place where societal tension is overwhelming, Uruguay feels like an oasis, but (and there is always a but) in real life there is a cost for that “better”. While there are exceptions, Uruguayans are not a driven people. While the Japanese and their Toyota Production Principles are famous for “Kai Zen” and the constantly push to be better, always better, Uruguay offers “Tranqui”. It’s okay. As it is, it is okay. This is not the same as a half-measure or doing things poorly or sloppily. It’s a difficult idea for an American but it’s a peace with life as it is, even when we can’t understand the motivations that would lead to decisions made. Uruguayans are not those who reach beyond their grasp only to leave a project done poorly, but maintain that state of “life is okay” that I think we lose in adolescents when those around begins to ask what we plan to do with our life. We forgot that life is for living. It’s okay. Tranquilo. It’s not better nor worse and it does have pros and cons, but coming from a nation that seems intent to fight in every interpersonal exchange if it is perceived that they’re on the “other team” and intent on ripping itself in two or more pieces, I find it refreshing at a minimum and certainly where I hope to live out my days.

One could write a book on the pros and cons of this way of approaching life, but the purpose of this essay is only to introduce the uninitiated to the idea.  

Marco