Written by: Jane
Mon Apr 18 2022
Recently I've just moved from living in the center to the other edge of the city. At first, I hesitated a lot. It was the very first decision that I discussed with so many people - my family and a lot of my friends. Eventually, I decided to move to my current place which I call a small village.
This place locates in a quiet area where most people with spouses and kids are living. There are very few restaurants and grocery stores, not to mention any pubs or bars. There are hills, gardens, plant fields, and even ponds. Public bus stops working at 8 pm. Grocery stores are 15 mins walk from my apartment. A trip to the center takes around 35 minutes by public transportation. I am living with my other two flatmates who are very quiet and calm people. We almost don't communicate at all unless we bump into one another when we have to use the kitchen but don't get me wrong we're on a good term. It's just how much we appreciate personal space and being with ourselves.
Ever since I moved to this place I started to appreciate the calmness a lot. I started to live a slower-paced life in which I rather not rushing things and go crazy about the social trend. In the beginning, I was irritated about how inconvenient my current place is since it's very far from any major places like the grocery stores, supermarkets, drug stores, stations, coffee shops...etc. But then, I am enjoying my long walk and a long trip to those places. I am enjoying walking around the area. I love watching the kids in my neighborhood and especially I love the night-calm here.
Living far away is not enough isolation that I even deactivated my social media. If I am not miscalculation it's already 3 months. That's the longest so far I have done. The other day I was trying to connect again but I didn't even find it stimulating. I used to fear missing out on what was happening around me if I disconnected myself from those platforms. However, I don't think I am missing anything at all. Communication is much more meaningful when I directly check on my friends or the other way around instead of following what's going on through feeds and posts. Throwing back, I realize that I put myself out there too much on social media but yeah that's when I was young.
I slowly come to a sense that peace of mind is the real deal. I become more selective about everything. I am carefully choosing what I consume starting from foods, video content, books, friendships, relationship, and everything that impact my physical and mental health. I normalize saying "No" and receiving "No" as an answer. I spend most of my time with myself, my very close friends, in nature, cooking, taking care of my plants, and figuring out what's best for me :). Most days I am content and only a few days I feel a bit lonely.
Yep, I don't know what is the future and I am excited to write it down when I pass it just as I am writing this one.