Jan 29, 2005

Reentry


Sunset
Originally uploaded by Timbo_.
As we passed through Customs in Phoenix, the agent said, "Welcome back to the land where minutes matter." How true. And how sad.

Coming back from a trip elsewhere is never easy, especially if you've had the chance to let your active, worrying mind take a rest, put itself on cruise control while your body and your soul soak up some sun and saltwater.

So it was with great regret that I put shoes on my feet for the first time in five days Wednesday morning and headed to work. And did that daily comedy ever seem silly.

"Damn, I missed the light! That's 45 seconds of my earth shatteringly important time wasted!"

How, I asked myself, can we do this five days out of seven? And then spend our weekends as a consumer/errand pit stop, fueling up for the next few laps? Why are we in such a hurry? What are we running toward or from with such alacrity?

These are banal questions working stiffs ask themselves after vacation, but I suspect that if we don't allow them to dissipate into the ether of our daily routine and concerns, they may yield some revealing answers, or perhaps even more profound questions.

For my part, I hope that whatever conclusions I reach help me to rush around far less and to spend more time shoeless in warmer climes.

4 comments:

NonstopExpress said...

Testing comments here. If you're reading this blog, let me know. It's hard to write in a bubble.

Anonymous said...

Well put Tim Blog. But remember that it's the mundane and the stress that makes us appreciate the Mexican sunset. If you had it every day for 3 years you'd be jonesing for the smell of Van Ness at rush hour. It trivializes one's life to think that you're living it wrong...

Brendhan

NonstopExpress said...

For me, the key is time. Having an escape from the corporate treadmill makes it bearable. And by spending more time outside of that life I can remember to appreciate the things I like about working, like the hustle and bustle of early morning, the sense of accomplishment and purpose.

Anonymous said...

My Chinese Doctor says, "Balance". I've rarely had it, but have had it enough to remember the "flow" of life I felt. I seek it now, and I suppose in seeking it, it remains elusive.

I'm reading the book "The Art of Happiness At Work" - conversations between the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, M.D. - a psychiatrist.

Here is a simple exercise the Dalai Lama suggests: sit in your office, or anywhere when you are alone, and just count your breaths for 5 to 10 mintues. That's it. Just start at one and go to 7. And when you notice your mind is throwing thougths into the counting - just start over. When 7 is easier, go to 12, then 21.

I've tried it. When I do it, I balance myself. Nothing externally changes - but inside, everything changes.

When I don't do it, my thoughts shift from the present to the past to the future - and there is no balance, even for a few moments.

I like working, I like resting. But I like to be focused on whatever it is I'm doing. I think I'm the only one in control of that!

Mom