There is a dirt road into town that I often drive down. I think most sane people avoid this road in favor of the paved route (for obvious reasons), but I don’t. Part of it is because the paved route isn’t as pretty… but the other part is because, if I’m being completely honest, the dirt road is actually a lot quicker.

 

 

There is, of course, a reason for why I’m sharing the details of my daily commute, since I’m sure you didn’t hop on the internet today in hopes of finding what sort of road conditions are near my house. The reason I felt this detail was worth sharing is that quite often as I am bumping along down this country road (usually when I’m shuffling through my songs and I land on a favored bluegrass tune), it really hits me just how different my life is now compared to when I lived in Boston.

And don’t worry, this isn’t going to be another post where I rag on Boston (I think there have been more than enough of those). But as I’ve been reflecting, and as more time has passed since moving back, I’ve begun to be able to see the beauty both in my life now and back in Boston. For example:

  1. Here in Arkansas, I no longer have a self-induced crazy strict schedule. I’ve tried really hard since moving back to allow myself to relax a bit more and be more forgiving when I don’t get everything on my to-do list done
  2. I also (thankfully) can’t remember the last time I sat in a traffic jam. I mean a REAL one. If it takes thirty minutes to get somewhere at 10 PM, it might take thirty-FIVE minutes to get there during peak rush hour.
  3. Sadly, I don’t live near the ocean anymore and as much as I love Beaver Lake here in NWA… it’s not nearly as pretty as those beautiful New England rivers and lakes
  4. There aren’t as many yummy health-food options here (there is of course some excellent barbecue and homestyle cooking, but those aren’t exactly healthy)
  5. Rather than drive over frost-heave-induced potholes, I see more rain-on-a-dirt-road-induced potholes
  7. I’ve traded city skylines for tree lines. Both beautiful, but completely different
  8. I see my family ALL the time, which I absolutely love, but it also means I don’t get to see my Boston friends hardly ever anymore
  9. I have my own home, where I can do everything exactly how I want… but I do so0000 miss the incredible roommates I had before moving back the AR
  10. I’m dating someone. And with each passing day I just want to spend more and more time with him. But I don’t think I would appreciate being in this space nearly as much as I do, had I not been so incredibly lonely in Boston. It is absolutely critical that we have valleys AND that we live fully in them so that when we finally climb our way out, we really understand what we have found in rising out of them
  11. Life is a little less classy, and a lot more country, but a lot more full of laughter. And maybe that has nothing to do with Boston vs. NW Arkansas and more with where I am emotionally, but that’s ok.

 

 

So I guess the real point in writing this post is to say that I think the biggest thing that has changed since moving back is the change of pace. I’d like to take 100% credit for that as I’ve tried to be more forgiving of myself when I fall short and have tried to take on less projects, but I think there is more to it than that.

Life in Arkansas is slower. It takes less time to get around. The days seem longer, and of course it helps that I work from home now (which provides quite a bit more room in the schedule). I’ve also found happiness and fulfillment in other areas of my life, so the entrepreneurial grind doesn’t feel quite so urgent. That’s not to say I don’t still want my own successful business any more… I just have begun to allow myself to be happy and fulfilled in other areas.

And I think that is the biggest difference between life now, compared to my life in Boston. And I’m ok with that particular change.