What have I learned?

 Life is made of learning steps. Every day we learn something new, either about ourselves, someone else, the world around us, a new skill, or anything else.

I took a pause that was, perhaps, too long from the social media world, but it was probably necessary. First of all, I could focus on my marketing strategy and create a good cooperation schedule with the translator who's in charge of translating my books in Italian. 

This pause also coincided with the second year of the pandemic that forced many of us to rethink the way we socialize, work, and do business, move around, and much more.

As for me, there has been one of the most important lessons, and that was to look closer to my life and understand what's important and what it isn't. We've lived our lives from one day to another without acknowledging how it was literally passing by, without having the time to enjoy it.

'Every cloud has a silver lining,' or at least this is what we've been taught since we were kids. If this is true, then there's something positive also in a tragedy like this pandemic, as it gave us the chance to look deeper into our lives and understand what really matters. 

I don't need to work my finger to the bones when this means that I miss the time with the people I love. There's always time for work, but we have a limited time to enjoy each other's company, and tomorrow might be too late.

Also, I had the chance to look closely around me to see the beauty just behind the corner. I also had the time to reconsider and reorganize my time, including more efforts on writing new material, researching, and find a new balance. Something had to be sacrificed, and that was my presence online on social media. 

My country never really went into a lockdown, except for the restrictions of traveling abroad and having restaurants, cinemas, and large gatherings restricted.

I have been lucky, and I hadn't been for a single day forced to work from home, although I'm not an essential worker. However, I experimented it for a month of my own will, and many people followed the same example just to test the possibility of working remotely. This remote-working offered a never hoped for flexibility, as people start to consider moving to other locations still keeping their job. Some plan to move closer to their families living away, other contemplate the possibility of moving abroad.

For a person like me, who is seeking for a milder climate, this chance is coming like a blessing. I wondered how I could have approached the discussion with my employer. My original idea was to move away and start living a simpler life in a place with a more favorable climate, but on the other hand, I was sorry to leave a job I really enjoy. Therefore this new opportunity is the one I can't let slip away.

Let's keep safe and positive... It can't rain forever.