Alone

Soquel, CA

“It is the role of thinkers and writers to serve as guardians of our spiritual nature and custodians of timeless values; cultivating truth, goodness and beauty as well as freedom and justice, love and charity.”
From Nobility of Spirit by Rob Rieman

I found this quote in my journal. It’s a tall order! Kathy said something in our Senior board meeting today that applies here. Chunk it down. I have three days now to be alone, be still, to write, and to enjoy a place I like very much – the Pacific coast. I’ll call it guarding my spiritual nature and record the journey for the benefit of my writer friends. What the heck, I’ll throw in relishing freedom and admiring beauty as well. The challenge will be to not bore you with a diary of my daily activities but to inspire you to try this yourself.

We (my family) are playing musical houses. While April and her family played at my house in the mountains last week, Devin and Victoria enjoyed her house on an Island in the Puget Sound and I took over their house on the coast right after the grandkids left.

Traffic on 17 was light this evening and the fog layer was high, light and luminescent. First thing after I let myself into the house, I checked the connectivity on my iPod iTouch and Yelped (cool app Devin told me about) New Leaf Market and Peet’s Coffee for tomorrow’s breakfast run. Then I walked across the street to Star of Siam for a dinner of steamed tilapia, mango , broccoli, red peppers and peas in a yellow curry sauce. My dining companions were two fat pink fish with warm brown eyes and clown lips and a surreal blue crustacean who seemed highly tempted to pinch a passing fat fish but was deflected with a gentle bump in his armpit (picture that!) by fat fishy who anticipated his churlish mood.

Back at the house, I’d already determined I wouldn’t bother with the TV but instead of jumping into my writing I warmed up by making up a grocery list for tomorrow (wine glass, coaster, chocolate). Now I’m contemplating the joy of solitude. For three days, I have no role to maintain in front of anyone. I am anonymous here; like Harry Potter in the invisible cloak, I can lose myself. How delightful.