i just read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. someone who i admire and respect tremendously recommended this read and it didn't disappoint. i think that is how it goes though, when you truly respect someone for their values, opinions and views, you will naturally enjoy things they like. there is that whole opposites attract thing, but i also think there is a natural magnetic draw between some individuals.
lately, i have taken more time to notice the earth that i, you, we all live in. the foundations of our earth that naturally form here, not what man has created here. im talking about the sky, clouds, sun, mountains, oceans, rivers, valleys and peaks, trees, flowers, rain, animals to insects. i don't care if you come from the belief of evolution or God created our surroundings, that doesn't matter to me, i hold no judgment of your beliefs. our earth is spectacular and i feel priviledged to inhabit it.
my views of our planet are limited. i am not a world traveler and honestly i am not even a domestic traveler. i have spent most of my life in the pacific northwest, but it hasn't disappointed me in the least. i have always loved the area, again i don't have much to compare it to, but i haven't always paid attention to what is really around me. i tend to live in a tunnel, with my focus on a few certain things and don't necessarily block out the rest but am indifferent.
in my attempts to live in the moment and just be, i am taking note of the beauty i am surrounded by. today is spectacular. it is february, this is typically a month of rainy dreary cold weather, but not today. the sun is shining, the skies are blue and clear, i can see all the mountain ranges. the trees are still bare, but if you look closely small delicate buds are starting to form.
in this book, Edward, describes a heat unlike any i have ever experienced; turn a piece of bread left out into something like toast in thirty minutes. holy cow! i can't even imagine heat like that. now the book is in the desert, duh it's in the title, and i get that the heat is different than what we have here, but i start complaining of being too hot in 75 degree weather. i wonder just how hot it is to dry toast out so quickly? im sure i would be a complete pain in the rear because i would be a whiny little baby, but i would like to experience that someday. he talks about how quiet and calm it is when it is that hot. i wonder if my internal dialogue would be screaming at me "hey crazy lady, get your rear into a freezer!" or would i be able to just be feel the heat, the calm, the stillness around me? wouldn't that be something?
i went for a run today with a good friend. oh a little side note, officially signed up for my first 5K, not really sure what i am thinking because as you know i am NOT a runner, but we are doing it together. anyway, off track again, we were out running last night. it was freezing cold, snow in the forecast, the winds were blowing, and it started to drizzle, but the sky was amazing, bright sun, gray and white clouds, blue sky all right there for us to enjoy. enjoy only if we take the time to do so. staring at that incredible sky helps me to calm my breathing, steady my pace, draw some sort of strength from within that screams at me, "you ARE a runner". i still don't believe that completely, but i did feel good.
so back to the book, i am not that i am person who could "live off the grid". being surrounded by just the great earth, without another soul to talk to, relying on myself and my skills to carry me through each day. although i might like the solitude for a period of time, short period of time, i couldn't do it long term. i have been wanting to go away for the weekend (see how short i'm talking), just me and sit and be. no electronics, no plans, no house to clean, no errands to run, just me. im not even that picky on where it would be, but i do love the beach so maybe someplace by the water. someplace where i can sit, listen to the water rush in and out over the rocks. i really love that sound, it is incredible.
well i think it would have been really cool to meet Edward. im sure he would have had some crass way of telling me how to live in the moment. how to find peace in just being. i do admire those who are so complex and artistic in their ways yet are so simple. thank you book recommender, this was a good read and i may try and tackle another of Edward Abbey's book.
No comments:
Post a Comment