Sometimes life seems boring, dull, and frustrating, leaving us with only fantasies of escape to ease our mental anguish. Other times we are so caught up in the beauty, the fascination, and the inspiration of the moment that we completely forget about our pressing responsibilities and illusive dreams. The regular preoccupations no longer matter because our focus has been hijacked from our daily mental grind and obsessions and completely invested in what is right in front of us. That is why we need diversion, recreation, travel, hobbies, and grandchildren.
This weekend while visiting our daughter and son-in-law, we toured Minnesota’s amazing State Capitol which has the world’s second largest unsupported dome (after Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome), explored the amazing underground University of Minnesota archives 80 feet underground within the Mississippi River bluffs, eaten at the very nook of The Nook (hidden booth at a local historical hamburger joint with a bowling alley in the basement), laid eyes on the beautiful, mostly frozen Minnehaha Falls, and have been drawn into the world of a ten-year-old boy who is perpetually hungry, can outlast the energizer bunny, and makes play out of everything.
You have probably seen sites more renown than these in your travels, but it not so much what we see or how widely we have traveled, or even, how many grandchildren we have, but rather, how much we have entered into and enjoyed those experiences, and the effect they have had on us.
When we are inspired and refreshed, we are rebooted and re-invigorated to pursue our calling. Even though our road may be is laborious and tricky to navigate, we will persevere because we had the good sense to take time to turn away from our obsession and simply enjoy what was in front of us.
Note to self: Please remember what you just wrote.
Photo credit: rolands.lakis. Creative Commons License.
