Running To Or Running From

Over this past year, I’ve watched countless friends and family make life altering decisions. More big moves than I have ever seen in such a sort period of time from so many indirectly connected people. The pandemic was a great catalyst and spurred on a lot of decisions.

Now, almost a year into the world realizing that 2020 wasn’t going to be a year like any other, I have been reflecting on some of the decisions I’ve made, or didn’t make, during that time as well as catching whiffs of similar levels of contemplation from others about their decisions made.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more the decisions, and their outcomes, fall into two different groups. People who ran from something and people who ran towards something.

People who ran from something looked a little bit more like the people on the bridge trying to leave with everyone else in the apocalyptic film, hastily packing and yelling at their seven year old that they can’t bring all the stuff animals, there’s just no time. Call it an overreaction. Call it a less than well thought out plan. Call it what you will, but I’m seeing a lot of those folks walking back some of their decisions and eating a little bit of crow sandwich for their incendiary comments about “any one not moving to Miami must hate life.” Running from something always needs group validation and causes mob mentality that if you aren’t helping us get away you must be a part of the problem.

Other people, people who ran towards something, they seem to be settling in and finding their groove in the new world they' choose for themselves. It wasn’t “New York is dead and is never coming back so were getting outta here.” but more, “we’ve been looking at getting a place upstate / moving back to Texas for a few years and this turn of events gave us the space and time from work to do it.” Those people were likely going to make that decision at some point, they just made it quicker given the circumstances.

So as I walked through the West Village this morning with my dog and my coffee, saying hello to the bakery owner, the dry cleaner guy, and a neighbor that seems to always walk their dog at the same time, I was struck with the question: if you didn’t run from or run to anything, what does that mean?

And now, another cup of coffee and a kiss from Maddie later, it means I was pretty lucky that I didn’t have to make a decision one way or another and had a life that I was really excited to just continue to live out in the best city in the world.

Sometimes, deciding not to decide anything is the best decision.