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A tale of two cities: Raleigh & San Francisco
A tale of two cities. San Francisco and Raleigh. Home far away from home.
I have been sitting on this draft for months and its now or never.
Having spent 10 years, a good decade in San Francisco, I was done with the busyness and fast pace of life. And I want to slow down and appreciate the moment and be fully present in the here and now.
And Raleigh welcomed me with both arms. One of the first things that I saw in the neighborhoods was a sign that said “Welcome to Raleigh y’all”.
It wasn’t just any sign - it made you feel like you belong here. That you are no different from the neighbor next door. And that you are right where you need to be.
That was powerful.
As part of my slowing down in life because of stress, anxiety and burnout that I had in the past, I was afraid it would be interpreted differently. It was important to slow down and take the time to recover. Also a change of place can do magical things.
A new place and a new pace will show you things that you didn’t see before. I would tell my friends that I saw a squirrel in my morning walk. And then a bunny and folks would chuckle. In my fast-paced life, I didn’t see or pay attention to my surroundings — not even sure if bunnies or squirrels were there. In…
