I spent 25 years in the U.S. corporate world.

With a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, a career in health technology, constant travel all around the world, a full calendar and what looked, from the outside, like a very successful life.

But somewhere along the way, I realized I had become very good at getting things done—and not very good at being present for my own life.  Decades flew by.

Does that sound familiar?

The rat race – the “business” –  is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is just the slow accumulation of small things: the garage becomes the storage, the closet you never clear, your aging parents you don’t get to see often, the friends you mean to call, the book on the nightstand, the feeling that life has become one long list of things to manage.

When we moved to Mexico, I did not suddenly find a perfect life. Mexico is messy, loud, surprising and occasionally maddening. 

But something did change.  Mexico taught me that not everything urgent is important.

Time began to feel different. People made room for conversation. A simple coffee with a friend could take an hour—or three—and nobody treated that as wasted time. Neighbors checked in. A trip to the market became a chance to see people, not simply another errand to finish before the next thing.

No hacks. Not “counting” every minute for being productive.  No race to win.  Now what?  If no one else was watching, what would I do to make me happy?

That was the toughest question I had to answer.  It took 5+ years.  My answer was that  want to “cool sh*t with great people”.  It must be both – together.

In work, in life, in art.  

You do not have to move to Mexico to understand that feeling.  Just get uncomfortable – whatever that means for you.  Don’t be scared of life. You will figure it out.  

The most important thing is – you have to create space – to make that change.  Mexico did that for me.

That is what I hope Mexico News Daily has offered you over the past few weeks: not another noisy thing competing for your attention, but a small daily window into a country that may make you see your own life differently.

Reading links

If this is a feeling you recognize, I would love for you to read these:  you can also read other viewers’ comments.

How Mexico’s approach to time beats the rat race: Tamanna’s take
My reflection on ahorita, why Mexico’s relationship with time changed mine, and why slowing down does not mean giving up on ambition.

The paradox of simplicity: Tamanna Bembenek on life in Mexico
On clearing out some of the physical and mental clutter—and discovering that a simpler life can still be a deeply full one.

3 things I learned from moving to Mexico and buying a business
The three lessons Mexico gave me after I left my corporate career: self-care is not selfish, what we consume shapes us, and joy deserves to be taken seriously.

The lessons on living a good life you learn in Mexico
Charlotte Smith’s beautiful reflection on six years in Mexico and the subtle ways the country changes what you value.

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance reaffirmed the life I chose
A candid piece about what Mexico asks of you—less ease, less certainty—and what it can give back: a more vivid, awake way of living.

Known from scratch: Moving to Mexico and finding a new way to belong
The story of a 65-year-old introvert who came to Querétaro and found that beginning again did not have to mean beginning alone.

This is our last email in this series.

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Tamanna Bembenek, Co-owner of Mexico News Daily