This was neither an adventure
nor an expedition,
nor what many would even call fun.
It was not a remote location. I simply didn't have the time.
In fact, it was a state park here in Illinois.
But given the events that have transpired in my life recently, I simply needed solitude. I needed to get away from the administration on a forum. I needed to get away from the computer. I needed to get away from the nagging phone...
...and just "be"
So I headed to the shores of Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan is one of the 5 great lakes. These are really fresh water inland seas. With 22,400 square miles of surface area, Lake Michigan is no mere pond. Tempests arise on the Great Lakes that equate to those in the oceans. The lake bottoms are filled with boats that thought they were big enough.
But for my weekend of simple reflection, Lake Michigan was simply a view.
A beautiful and serene view to purify my mind.
My only companions for the weekend were a group of bald faced hornets (aka Dolichovespula maculata ). These are the bad dudes who sting and bite at the same time, but having worked with them in the past, I was neither put out nor frightened nor intimidated. I was entertained.
Do you see how they have stripped the wood in the photo below? They chew the wood and it mixes with starch in their saliva, which they use to make their paper nests. These are the basketball sized gray orbs you see hanging in trees. I tried to allow them their work, and they did the same for me.
I focused on only one task at a time. If it were meal time, I took the time to enjoy the smells, the kitchen utensils, and took pleasure in doing what so many of us take for granted ; Eating good food.
My adventure for the weekend could be summed up with one word.
Baconeggandcheesebreakfastburrito.
During the days, I read Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian. He was a man diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Six weeks later, the x-rays showed no cancer. So while he was anticipating death, he was granted a reprieve.
He disappeared into the mountains and wrote this book. He is the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for literature.
I also spent some time shining up my rig. This is the type of mindless activity that lends to instant good results, and in just an hours time one can bask in the feeling of a job well done. There is no deadline. There is no interruption. There is only the truck, the beautiful weather, and the entire day if needed.
Dinner was simple yet spicy
And evening was spent in reflection. It is amazing how off course we get in life while we simply go through the motions of living. The routine we find ourselves in can whittle away at our soul, and one day we look in the mirror not knowing who is there anymore. I needed this weekend alone.
It is also a HUGE reason why we all need to get away. I know that you all know it, but we become better people by spending quiet time around a fire; cooking a meal in the open air; watching a sun rise over a lake; sleeping with a cleansing breeze flowing over our skin; and getting back to who we want to be as citizens on this blue marble.
nor an expedition,
nor what many would even call fun.
It was not a remote location. I simply didn't have the time.
In fact, it was a state park here in Illinois.
But given the events that have transpired in my life recently, I simply needed solitude. I needed to get away from the administration on a forum. I needed to get away from the computer. I needed to get away from the nagging phone...
...and just "be"
So I headed to the shores of Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan is one of the 5 great lakes. These are really fresh water inland seas. With 22,400 square miles of surface area, Lake Michigan is no mere pond. Tempests arise on the Great Lakes that equate to those in the oceans. The lake bottoms are filled with boats that thought they were big enough.
But for my weekend of simple reflection, Lake Michigan was simply a view.
A beautiful and serene view to purify my mind.
My only companions for the weekend were a group of bald faced hornets (aka Dolichovespula maculata ). These are the bad dudes who sting and bite at the same time, but having worked with them in the past, I was neither put out nor frightened nor intimidated. I was entertained.
Do you see how they have stripped the wood in the photo below? They chew the wood and it mixes with starch in their saliva, which they use to make their paper nests. These are the basketball sized gray orbs you see hanging in trees. I tried to allow them their work, and they did the same for me.
I focused on only one task at a time. If it were meal time, I took the time to enjoy the smells, the kitchen utensils, and took pleasure in doing what so many of us take for granted ; Eating good food.
My adventure for the weekend could be summed up with one word.
Baconeggandcheesebreakfastburrito.
During the days, I read Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian. He was a man diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Six weeks later, the x-rays showed no cancer. So while he was anticipating death, he was granted a reprieve.
He disappeared into the mountains and wrote this book. He is the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for literature.
I also spent some time shining up my rig. This is the type of mindless activity that lends to instant good results, and in just an hours time one can bask in the feeling of a job well done. There is no deadline. There is no interruption. There is only the truck, the beautiful weather, and the entire day if needed.
Dinner was simple yet spicy
And evening was spent in reflection. It is amazing how off course we get in life while we simply go through the motions of living. The routine we find ourselves in can whittle away at our soul, and one day we look in the mirror not knowing who is there anymore. I needed this weekend alone.
It is also a HUGE reason why we all need to get away. I know that you all know it, but we become better people by spending quiet time around a fire; cooking a meal in the open air; watching a sun rise over a lake; sleeping with a cleansing breeze flowing over our skin; and getting back to who we want to be as citizens on this blue marble.
to that!
