She once believed that a life well lived was chock full of things to do
and places to be. As her life had grown more complex, Dawn felt like a hamster
clinging to its rapidly spinning wheel. A ten day “vacation” to a monastery seemed like a crazy idea….just crazy enough that she decided to try it. She texted Jackie (her college roommate) and agreed to the adventure in Meeker, Colorado.
Writing in her journal after six days of quietude, Dawn penned the following:
“At last, without the phones and the fury…..I’m at peace. I wake up early but
am surprisingly refreshed after sleeping like a baby. There are no worries gnawing
at me and the hecticity seems to have melted away. Not once have I awakened at
3:00 a.m. with thoughts of tomorrow cascading through my brain.
I’ve come to realize that packing so much into my days and leaving so little time for reflection was taking its toll.
It was quite a shock the first two days without my iPod, computer, and smart phone.
These electronic appendages had become so much “me” that I now felt a little of
what an amputee describes as the phantom limb phenomena. I’m so looking forward to seeing Rick and the twins in a few days.
I know that the kids were upset when I snapped at them at Chucky Cheese before I left. This time alone has shown me that the hurry….and the worry…. were really suppressing the “me’ I’d always hoped to be.
I guess life is actually richer when we slow down and get off of the hamster wheel.
The writer who wrote about taking time to smell the roses was correct.
Dawn felt her eyes growing heavy. She blew out the candle and said a quick prayer
of thanks for all she’d learned in Meeker.
What You’re Saying