It seemed silly to leave here and I wouldn’t want to change the “everything available”. Do we have time to enjoy this “everything”?
Have you ever stopped to think about how we were used to a strong and fast pace? Living in São Paulo, working with fairs and events, everything for me went through a fast-paced routine, with very little time to disperse. A fast-paced normality. This was a common reality until 2020.
The sudden change in which we fell, gave another tone to the pace of things. The atmosphere of inaccuracies and new daily inconsistencies shattered many of our convictions.
One of those great certainties that was always with me was: São Paulo. A crowded place, where you can find everything, at any time. It seemed silly to leave here and I wouldn’t want to change the “everything available”. But do we really have time to enjoy this “everything”?
The confinement made me reflect on the fact that, despite having everything, we are, most of the time, stuck in our apartments and cars. The traffic, the eternal rush. In an apartment with my son and my wife, with an unstable world at the window, I realized that, as convinced as I was about living “in the city that never sleeps”, maybe this was not the best option. Or the healthiest.
I went to the countryside, already discovered by my parents – they already knew the benefits of this new world. The backyard, watching my son playing in the sun, the tranquility of being able to share a square in the city and walking to my appointments were some of the sweet lessons I learned about time and everything. What was supposed to be a quarantine, became a new possibility.
They say that difficult times invite us to reflect on what really matters. And I cared a lot less about having everything at my disposal 24 hours a day than the calm that my new environment brought me.
The truth is that the frenetic pace engulfs us daily. Many times, it prevents us from noticing that this is not normal. Having time, space to watch my son play on the grass is normal.
Getting to an appointment in less than 60 minutes is normal. Leaving the arrhythmia of the great metropolis allows you to meditate on the possibility of a balance between the city of opportunities and the serenity of the countryside.
And this is the positive balance between the peaceful and the dynamic, between the home office and the face-to-face. It’s our new reality. But unlike what happened in 2020, we are gradually getting back into a routine, with time on our side.
Finding a balance between the things I learned to observe and the importance of keeping up with the world has been a new challenge. Adjustments are necessary for everyone, but surely there is a way in between that makes it possible to combine the best of both worlds.
And, as difficult as it may seem, I can say that it is possible. I was willing to come from the countryside to São Paulo and stay here during the weekdays to return to a cozy and soft house on the weekends. The road to São Paulo and the knowledge that I will be away from my family for days, tightens my heart.
But it has been worth it, for the bonuses that this decision brings. I think that many of us did not imagine the possibilities that presented themselves during this last year. Many of them were ignored, because we were too exhausted to reflect and considered that there were no other scenarios. However, this is not the truth. With a few waivers, you gain a lot.
I see less of my family, but I see in them a new conviction: that I made the right choice.
Pedro Luís Torrano is managing partner of Triart
