Today I’m beginning an experiment. I’m moving (in my mind) to a sweet little house on a lake. I’ve always imagined that happier times will begin when my husband and I finally move to a small town on Lake Michigan. Many of my goals revolve around this dream as in, “I’ll work an extra job so we can move to the lake sooner.”
Aside from the view, what’s so special about living near this lake? I’d still be working part time. Even if I needed to work full-time, I’d be eager for this move. Why?
When I imagine walking the beach and staring into the water, I’m at peace. There is no rush. Deep thoughts surface and feed my writing. My rhythms slow down to match a gentle tide. When we live on the lake, I’ll finally let go of my striving (including the strivings of getting to the lake!).
I’m impatient to get to this idyllic part of my life. But this daydream requires selling a home, quitting jobs and moving. Rick isn’t ready. So today, I’m moving in my mind. I’m relocating to the lakeshore and all it represents. I can see the water. More importantly, I can practice the serenity I imagine.
This morning I’ll walk the beach and give myself time to be. It isn’t easy to hold the fantasy in my mind and keep it realistic. But the sound of the waves and the feel of the sand isn’t the most important gift of my move. I crave an attitude toward living. Let’s see if I can cultivate that new awareness. I’ll begin today. © Lewis-Barr 2008
No more to read on this post. Even though Blogger says
Monday, April 7, 2008
Living the Unlived Life
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5 comments:
Your dream of moving to the lake struck a chord w/ me. My husband and I saved & planned for a long time to build our log cabin in northern Michigan. NOw the dream is to retire up there as soon as possible...
I hope your dream comes true soon!
Our site documenting our dream: www.logcabininmichigan.blogspot.com
Shelley
Wow, Shelley, you have a beautiful cabin!
Thanks for your good wishes.
My experiment has been working. I have been managing to live more in the present moment--which is what my ultimate retirement dreams are really about anyway.
Thanks for writing.
Great blog! Congratulations on living your dreams--even if just in your mind. Start with your mind and the rest will follow.
Love your blog. What troubles me about the purity of your vision is its similarity to one of my father's. For 30 years or so he spoke of the idyllic country cottage deep in the peace of woods and fields where he would be able to find the calm to write (he writes by profession) and to create the magical symbollic garden he had long dreamt of. Through the decades jobs and marriages passed along with several changes of country and he was eventually able to find the place he has always imagined and spoken of, a historic farm and barn deep in the heart of an unspoilt place where rivers ran peacefully through empty forests, and the silence was puncuated only by birdsong and the rustling of animals. The locals were marvelous as well, giving him ancient books and moving his belongings when there was threat of flood.
Yet after he had been there no more than a few months I received a distressed phonecall. Amid the silence he had fallen into depression and in his rush to embrace what had been missing in his urban life up to that point, he had overlooked all that he loved in the company of others.
Hi La Belette Rouge,
Thanks, you're right. Starts with the mind....
Thanks Hal. Yes, the Jungians do talk about the dangers of rural life and how the seclusion can lead to dark hours.
Thanks for your thoughts!
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