Contemplation
Last night, as I was driving home from Ellensburg, I got to thinking. Yeah, I know, it's a dangerous thing to do, especially for me. Either way, it happened. As I was saying, I got to thinking about those few moments in all of our lives where we find peace. Those moments when you realize that you're content and everything is good. So, I decided that when I got home, I'd list some of those on my LJ for some inexplicable reason. So, here are a few in no particular order.
- The first one I thought of was driving back to school in Ellensburg from watching a movie in Yakima. I decided to take the back road, a highway that runs through the Yakima River Canyon, which is empty at that time of night. As I got to driving down this road, I noticed that the moon was out and the entire canyon was bathed in moonlight. Then, I realized that the radio station that I was listening to hadn't played a commercial in an hour. I was driving down this road totally alone, bathed in moonlight, listening to all good songs on the radio with no commercials, no talking, just music. For me it was a moment of peace and contentment that you couldn't manufacture, it just happened.
- Another moment happened the weekend spring break ended several years back. A friend of mine decided to host a party where a few select friends would get together, have a couple drinks, and just relax. As such things go, the friend who invited us, and his girlfriend got into a fight, and departed for the evening early, leaving me with a couple acquaintances that I didn't really know. But something weird happened. We got to talking, with some quiet music and the background, and we just kept talking. Talking about life, the universe, everything. The next thing I know, it's 6 am and I realize how tired I am. For me, that evening I shared with two people I didn't know but who are now friends, was a moment of peace.
- The final one I'll share, since this is getting long, happened when I was still in high school. A friend and I decided to go fishing. So we piled a bunch of gear and stuff into my old car and took off for the Toucannon River in south eastern Washington. We drive there, taking half the day to get there and drive up the river finding a nice hole. Fishing a small river involves drifting up and down the river, walking along the bank throwing your line in at holes. Anyways, we were having no luck at all. I think we caught maybe two fish when we were down there. The moment of peace came right around noon on the second day we were down there. It was a warm day, as days can get up in the mountains in late summer. I wasn't having any luck catching fish so I sit down on this rock out in the sun. That's when the sense of peace hit, the kind you feel sinking into your bones. I was laying on this rock in the sun, next to a beautiful river with no one around, listening to the sounds of the forest around me. It was a special moment for me.
These were a few moments in my life that I found peace and tranquility. Of course that doesn't mean life is peaceful and tranquil, it's far from it. However, if we sit down and think a little, I'm sure we all can find moments like this. And maybe, when stress starts grinding you down, thinking about those moments and realizing that they can happen again, can help you get through the hard times.
- The first one I thought of was driving back to school in Ellensburg from watching a movie in Yakima. I decided to take the back road, a highway that runs through the Yakima River Canyon, which is empty at that time of night. As I got to driving down this road, I noticed that the moon was out and the entire canyon was bathed in moonlight. Then, I realized that the radio station that I was listening to hadn't played a commercial in an hour. I was driving down this road totally alone, bathed in moonlight, listening to all good songs on the radio with no commercials, no talking, just music. For me it was a moment of peace and contentment that you couldn't manufacture, it just happened.
- Another moment happened the weekend spring break ended several years back. A friend of mine decided to host a party where a few select friends would get together, have a couple drinks, and just relax. As such things go, the friend who invited us, and his girlfriend got into a fight, and departed for the evening early, leaving me with a couple acquaintances that I didn't really know. But something weird happened. We got to talking, with some quiet music and the background, and we just kept talking. Talking about life, the universe, everything. The next thing I know, it's 6 am and I realize how tired I am. For me, that evening I shared with two people I didn't know but who are now friends, was a moment of peace.
- The final one I'll share, since this is getting long, happened when I was still in high school. A friend and I decided to go fishing. So we piled a bunch of gear and stuff into my old car and took off for the Toucannon River in south eastern Washington. We drive there, taking half the day to get there and drive up the river finding a nice hole. Fishing a small river involves drifting up and down the river, walking along the bank throwing your line in at holes. Anyways, we were having no luck at all. I think we caught maybe two fish when we were down there. The moment of peace came right around noon on the second day we were down there. It was a warm day, as days can get up in the mountains in late summer. I wasn't having any luck catching fish so I sit down on this rock out in the sun. That's when the sense of peace hit, the kind you feel sinking into your bones. I was laying on this rock in the sun, next to a beautiful river with no one around, listening to the sounds of the forest around me. It was a special moment for me.
These were a few moments in my life that I found peace and tranquility. Of course that doesn't mean life is peaceful and tranquil, it's far from it. However, if we sit down and think a little, I'm sure we all can find moments like this. And maybe, when stress starts grinding you down, thinking about those moments and realizing that they can happen again, can help you get through the hard times.