I finally was able to take an actual vacation this past week and it was fantastic. My first requirement on the way up was that I would stay away from the internet as much as possible and just read and enjoy being present.
This trip has led to a few important lines of thought that I wanted to write down. First, nature is wonderful. I think this is already written in many books that I have read, but it truly is. Being outside and just breathing in air as I hike through some woods is a great use of time. Inside this obvious revelation, it is the importance of just being present with nature. I can oftentimes feel like walking or running in the open air brings up a good time to listen to an audiobook. While it is usually a good time, it takes me out of being present.
Second, presence is important. Was I living entirely in the moment this weekend? No, but I did notice that I was way more present since I shed off scrolling through the internet/ social media and using my time to read a book or be with Caitlyn. I could tell it deepened our bond as well, even though she may have not been the most on board with the electronics purge. I think she felt the benefits of the purge as well.
Lastly, I want to be better at cataloging my life. I think my dad went a bit overboard with the cataloging. There are countless videos, pictures, and handwritten letters that he captured. While on the trip I read a planner that he wrote from the days before my birth to my first birthday, and he has another nine more where that came from. It is almost a daily log of everything that happened around then. The parts that I enjoyed the most were events that occurred and what my dad’s thoughts about those events were.
I realized that I wanted to capture my life, but I wanted to make things a little bit less cluttered than what my dad had. Which granted, technology now really allows it way better. But I want to start this habit now so that I can have a log of my life to give to the people that I don’t yet know want it. Caitlyn was not as lucky to have full novels of a parent no longer with us, but it is clear that we both do and would appreciate something of the sort. My dad wrote everything down for the first decade of his four kids. I think it would be cool to have a video recording chronicling the same kind of stuff. Maybe it will be far too much content and maybe it will never be heard or viewed again, but sometimes it is just the thought that counts.
