3/31/2006

I Walk the Line


Have you ever noticed that Winter is the longest damn season of the year? I've always hated the cold because no matter how many layers I pile on to protect me from the harshness of it all, somehow I'm still freezing underneath. The past two days have been so beautiful, a whopping 65 yesterday and this morning it's already 55. I have to laugh every Spring when this weather comes around and we all think we're having a heat wave but in Fall when the temps drop to 60 we're freezing again. Yesterday I couldn't resist going for a walk on my lunch hour. I'm lucky enough to work downtown a few blocks from Lake Michigan so strolling along the beach is an easy task if I'm motivated. I walked out to Adler Planetarium and when I arrived I looked back at the city I work in. It seemed so far away as if I had stepped outside myself into an alternate universe. As I perched myself upon the rocks and watched the people go by I couldn't help but notice how happy everyone seemed. Children were running and laughing, grown ups dressed in business attire smiled as they let themselves be dazzled by their innocence, dogs wagged their tails as strangers scratched them behind their ears. People were at ease and honestly it's something I either rarely see or barely notice. Sitting out there in the warm sun with the wind blowing through my hair - life seemed simple. There were so many people sitting on the same shoreline, looking across the same body of water, forgetting the same realities that wait for them several blocks away. There were people who if only for a moment, or for a day - reveled in their existence at that precise point in time. You want to know the most amazing part of it all? Not one person was talking on their cell phones. It was almost as if they had carved out that space for their own personal use and no one was allowed to intrude. That's certainly how I felt as I purposely left my cell lay on my desk as I walked out the door. Sometimes we need life with no interruptions.

As I walked back from lunch that peace I'd discovered followed me back to my reality. Yesterday I walked the line between remembering life could be simple and realizing it was if I let it be.

It's simple really, life is only as complicated as you let it be.

13 Comments:

  1. Unknown said...
    You just were living in the moment. When I manage to live in the moment all goes easily and well.

    Your blog makes me come into the moment.

    Thank you.
    PG said...
    Sigh. Exactly.
    Anonymous said...
    You seem to have a natural knack for finding simplicity and reason in every day life and beyond :)

    Have a fab' weekend !
    Thanks for sharing~
    JJ said...
    Winter is the longest season of the year. We have had really great temp. here too. But I will never forget that April 1st snowstorm. With that said I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
    I see you,
    JJ
    k o w said...
    Ain't that the truth.
    I'm running late checking the blogs today. It's 70 and sunny outside and the cherry trees are in near full bloom.
    Caterpillar said...
    I love it when that happens - feeling the wind and sitting back and taking it all in - it's when we realize how great and happy we can be, and how alike we all are. I really love those moments, when I feel a kinship and a peace. I'm so happy that you had it, too!
    WoodChuck said...
    Chicago's a good place to visit but I love the South now. But I imagine the harder the Winter the sweeter the warm Spring weather. I didn't fully appreciate where I now live until I move out of state.
    Rex said...
    I wish I could find it more often. It's a beautiful, peaceful place. Have a great weekend. Rexie
    Anonymous said...
    Well said as always! Peace..stillness..the beauty of what surrounds us...
    Lori said...
    Even though we had a mild winter, I'm glad to see Spring (even though we had a snowstorm on the first day!)

    It was a beautiful day here also. I don't remember the last time the sky looked so blue..or maybe I've been too darn busy lately to notice! Happy Friday!
    WDKY said...
    That's SO true... simplicity can be beautiful in itself, and when the sun shines and you have a view like that one... well, it really is good to be alive, isn't it?
    kimmyk said...
    i've begun peeling the layers of the onion that is my life.

    unless i go far my cell stays home...i didnt have it before no real crisis that i need it now when i leave.

    and i've begun simplifying my home and people around me.....

    spring has sprung....finally.
    NML/Natalie said...
    I could do with a few moments like that. I quite enjoy being sans mobile phone. The weather here is rubbish but yay for you that spring has properly arrived for you :-)

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