Amaaaaaaazing

Okay, so the weather today... incredible. The second I stepped foot outside today to get the mail, it was as though a cloud had been lifted. You see, I had woken up this morning so groggy and still ridiculously tired from a long day yesterday. The only thing that helped me fall asleep last night, after lying in bed for forty minutes, was thinking about bouldering problems. It was literally the only thing I could think of that would keep my mind preoccupied and not wandering to everything else going on in my life.

On a sidenote, I have decided that is why I find climbing so stimulating. When you're outside and hiking or kayaking, etc, you can think of a lot of things if you let yourself go. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good way to get into the quiet and gain some perspective, but it's not what climbing is. When you're climbing, you can't think about anything but what you're doing right then. The only negative and positive thoughts that cross my mind are those about the rock, about how I'm going to make it to the top or where my hand is going to go next, whether who ever is belaying me really has a good hold or how soon it will be before my legs give out. It's fantastic, and even thinking about it is a great way to still the mind and fall asleep. So, there.

Back to today. Bright, airy, with a cool warmness that stimulates not only the body, but the mind and the heart as well, this morning gave me hope. I drove to work with the windows down and Ray Lamontagne playing on my car stereo; impulsively, I pulled over at Belmont and ran up a couple of flights to give my fiance a hug and kiss to start the day. Work was not nearly as consuming as it has been the last couple of days, although still enough that walking outside, across campus to class, reinvigorated the feelings of the morning. I turned my cell phone on silent, slid my sunglasses on, and just sat, with eyes closed, and basked in sunlight until it was time to go into class. We came in the room and immediately opened the windows, rearranged the desks, and are doing our best to engage in classwork with the world so alive outside. It's working, actually - gives me reason to end this entry and get back to class, considering the purpose of reflection in service-learning and catching a breeze, every now and again, of stirring evening air. Ah, amazing.

p.s. Five months until the wedding. Woo!