I have this friend who, when we share what is new in/with our lives, she always seems to be going through a similar experience. She knows exactly what I'm feeling with little to zero effort on my part to have to explain it, and can often find even better words to place on the experience. One such circumstance was today. I was talking about how I miss life on the West coast. I miss driving my car to the grocery store, in my shorts, tank top, and flip flops, and leisurely walking into the enormous supermarket to get what I need. And then walking slowly and calmly back to my car to drive home. Done - Friday night.
I miss being able to do that. In NYC we are always on someone else's schedule - namely, Mr. and Mrs. MTA. They dictate when we get somewhere, if we are late, how long we'll have to sweat (or freeze, pick your season) before the train comes. So therefore, we rush. If I get there at 2:42 then maybe I'll make the right train, at the right time. Time. Time. Time. Schedule. Schedule. Schedule. We are forcing ourselves to live in this mentality that promotes futurizing and not living in the moment.
So this morning my friend and I shared our love for that slower pace and then she said something that really hit me. "But the crappy thing about this is, that once we have experienced it, it's hard to be content with that other lifestyle."
Is that true? Will I never be able to quite live in another place?
In the movie "Keeping the Faith", which is one of my all time favorites - I mean who doesn't love Edward Norton as a priest - they say that once you have lived in NYC you think that people living anywhere else are kidding themselves.
Really? Or do we have it the other way around? Are we the ones kidding ourselves?
Still trying to figure it out.
2 comments:
Brian and I talk about this a lot, and I think about it all the time. I don't know if we, as New Yorkers, will ever be able to fill the void after moving away from New York City.
I also long for my old car and running errands on my own time, or driving the two miles instead of taking an hour long subway ride. But enough to give up NYC? Not yet! BTW, so excited to see a new post hours after I requested one. Always love reading your blog!
I've lived in NY 35 of my 37 years. For 2 years I lived in South Carolina and I must say that although I love the hustle and the bustle of NYC....I count the days until I can get out of here. I don't necessarily want to go back to South Carolina but somewhere that is considered SLOW!!
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