Time to Breath

I am a busy person. I look at my calendar, and the first thing I think is "what can I do to fill up this time?". I enjoy being busy, it keeps me out of trouble, food on the table, knowledge in my head, and gives me the sensation of "moving forward". However, June 23rd, 2011, marked the end of the MRU Spring semester. I have never taken three consecutive semesters before, let alone the condense high speed race that is a spring semester. I feel like I have learned so much this year, but also that my feet have yet to touch the ground. So - finally - I have taken a break.

For the last two/three days, I have:

1. Driven to Kananaskis
2. Went for a hike.

3. Wrote 4 poems.

4. Worked on 2 extended story lines

5. Played roughly 6 hours of guitar.
6. Cleaned my room.

7. Tried to take a picture of a bird that kept pecking at my window.

8. Waterproofed my boots.

9. Moved over all the phone numbers from my old phone to my new phone by hand.

10. Sharpened my knives.

11. Did my laundry.

12. Driven back to Calgary
13. Arranged things for my full time job that I start on Tuesday.

14. Realized my idea of doing "nothing" doesn't constitute "nothing".

I am the embodiment of inertia. The momentum generated by the hustle and bustle of the school year hasn't seemed to work its way out of my system just yet. I find myself laying wake at night thinking "what could/should I be doing?". It's disturbing to think that we prioritize productivity over sleep, when a paper wont actually effect our health, while not sleeping will.

However, this blog has not been written to brag about my never stopping mind. This post is about the importance of breathing.

One of the many things that University does not budget time for is the moments we need to take to just Exist. Between the first hit of caffeine in the morning, and the "sweet damn, it's 3am and I have class at 8" that marks the end of our 'day', we don't get - or take - the chance to enjoy what it is we do. The sight of boarder shorts and sun dresses marks the beginning of our time. Finally, I can wake up without the need to peel my face off my keyboard, having fallen asleep in mid paragraph, 100 pages of "sdfggggggdggggggggggggggggggggggggggg" ready to be deleted and replaced with coherent thought. Finally, we can breath for the sake of breathing.

Welcome to the summer, my Friends - breath the air of modest freedom. Enjoy the temperate weather, the wind through the trees, the sighs, the smells, the friends and family. Our time is Now.