I spent the better part of my weekend out in the country where there was no cell service or internet.. Lots of hours paddling around in my kayak, letting cricket frogs perch on my fingertips, laying in the sun and fall breeze, roasting marshmallows over a fire, listening to a pack of coyotes yelp nearby, calling out at owls and waiting for their response, talking to cows in nearby fields, cuddling with country dogs and cats, eating edible flowers straight from a garden, wearing a stocking cap to sleep to stay warm. I even saw a coyote on my way out — it crossed the highway in front of me and stopped and turned and looked back at me as I slowed to a crawl.
I read a quote before I left that went something like this: Depression is living in the past. Anxiety is living in the future. Peace is living in the present. I’m pretty apt at putting the past behind me, but I certainly project myself into the future more often than not. I think it comes with the territory of being a self-employed artist. And I think that makes having these moments of total presence, especially weekend long moments, appreciated to the max. My main goal is to have more of these moments wherever I’m at.