Hello, friends!
This week, my son started his first day of his senior year of high school. I’m blown away that we’ve reached this milestone so soon. He turns 18 next week and somehow I am now the mother of a man. Luckily, homeschool affords me the ability to spend lots of time with him before he goes off on his next great adventure and my nest empties.
On Wednesday, the last first day of school, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up, poured myself some coffee, and went outside to watch the sun come up. These days it’s too hot to be outside during the day, so I enjoyed the soft breeze and relatively cool temperatures. It was a rare treat to be so quiet and calm with the trees as my companions. When was the last time you watched the sun rise?
On the writing front, I’ve been writing regularly and it feels really good. After almost two years of upheaval and blockage and wandering in the creative wilderness, I feel like I’m finally settled again.
I think this is the silver lining of this odd time—remembering how to be present. We live in such a yang culture—go, go, go!—and one that encourages constant disconnection from the moment. Staying home, slowing down, embracing the hermit life is a nice reminder that our life is happening right now. Today isn’t a preparatory pause before the real living begins. You are living right now. It’s hard because things seem so inert and dark, but there are moments of light and intense aliveness to be found if you slow down and look for them.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of light and presence.
What a wonderful post! Moving to rural Oregon from Los Angeles (where I had lived my whole life) has offered up a few moments exactly like you described. The one that always seems to grab me is when I walk out of my studio/office late at night and the wind is rustling through the trees. It's not a sound I grew up with, which might sound strange but in L.A. you either have crazy winds or no winds and there are so many other sounds constantly that it's easy to miss something like the rustling of the leaves. So it always stops me...and I close my eyes and just breathe for a few minutes connecting to the sound of the breeze moving through the trees and the feel of it washing over my skin. Good stuff. Hope you have a great weekend.
Lovely!!!!