As I was reading your post, I would think, this is how I should answer this part...and then I'd carry on and have the same thought for something else you said. In the end, I realised it is not easy to deal with the entirety of your thoughts, discoveries and worries.

Unlike you, I am at the other end of my life, which means that I recall times that were very different from the present. For instance, for a brief time, we went through the stage where companies tried to make their employees feel proud of the company and its successes. Professional management took over, instead of an owner running the business who is proud of it and thinks of his business as his child.

For work to be worth the time you are forced to give it, you must feel you are a part of something and want to excel. That is not a word you will hear often nowadays. Excelling at what you do makes a big difference and you become dedicated to doing it.

In the old days, many had hobbies - hardly anyone does now. Whether it was stamp collecting or wood working or learning of new ways of thinking, or reading poetry...all hobbies demand dedication, and once you are dedicated, you try to excel at what you do. As you say you have grown to feel about playing the piano.

Re eating meat. I do not agree with vegans. I refuse to turn my back on our past. We evolved because we were meat eaters. In the recent past, we accepted that side of us, but looked for ways to make the slaughter of animals as painless (and fear free) as possible. Now, because of Halal, the killing process has become as traumatic as possible and people think that only by becoming vegans can they avoid being responsible.

The world is much uglier in so many ways, for your generation. I hope you see yourself as being of the X generation, and not of the millenials. The X generation is more pragmatic, and they are willing to fight to make this a better world again.

As for @charlotteroze, she probably will not see my comment, but I've been thinking about all she said. The truth is, all of us have dreams. The problem is, everyone seems to think, at this time, that their dream is all that matterst. They ignore or do not realise that for all of us the same truths apply: It is very rare that anyone has only one dream. We have dreams (plural). The art is in recognising them and choosing which dreams we want to pursue. When the dreams clash (her walk vs her love is a good example), she must decide which dream means more to her. If she starts off with the feeling that she is sacrificing what she wants for her husband and children, then she will grow bitter and not be the love, wife and mother she can be. Not only her family (loved ones) lose, so does she.

Your suggestion that she makes small excursions is a good one, but keep in mind that the world is now not a safe place - anywhere. My little niece is not allowed to play in her garden because she is blond and blue-eyed and such children disappear, as it is believed their body parts are strong magic. She also wants to ride her bike or walk to the local shop to buy sweets and so on. We solve her problem by taking her to the beach, to special hiking areas and so on. In other words, if you cannot do exactly what you want, then look for ways to get what you can. What if her and her family go to a camp, where he can swim, sit by the fire, drink a beer etc., while she, with a few others, goes for long walks and discovers the beauties of nature. California is only an idea, a fascination. There are many thousands of places where the right attitude and mood can help us share the beauty our world offers us.

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That's it for now, my fingers are getting sore and you must be getting tired of reading my thoughts, so, till another time...bye