Short and Sweet

I just spent less than 24 hours in Seattle.  Sometimes that is all that is required to shift your focus a little.  I keep wishing that as humans we had a reset button, a way to reprogram the mind so to speak, when we get into unproductive ruts of thoughts.  No magic button to push unfortunately.  Fortunately, sometimes when things get a little off kilter, they manage to reset themselves, kind of like magic, but not quite.
I didn't leave home feeling particularly off or out of sorts yesterday, at least nothing I noticed.  What I did notice today, as I headed back home, is that I felt fresh, renewed, ready to greet whatever awaited me.  It wasn't that anything extraordinary happened, I just had a little time to myself...the quiet in the car with no one demanding anything of me, an evening at a fundraiser talking with an old co-worker and his partner, interesting, passionate people, and feeling transported 180 degrees away from my normal days, late night ice cream and easy conversation about life with a dear friend...it really doesn't take much.
I had intended  to go shopping while in Seattle, buy a dress for my sister in law's wedding, take in a yoga class.  When I woke up this morning, none of that seemed all that interesting at the moment.  Instead, I wandered up to a neighborhood coffee shop, got a really good mocha (why do they always taste so much better from Seattle coffee houses?), the sun was shining, blue sky overhead and the day felt glorious.  I got in my car and headed toward the freeway.  I felt full.  I watched a mother deliver her preschooler to school and felt my eyes brimming with tears.  It wasn't so much that I felt longing for my kids, I just felt connected to the universe, could see myself in her.  Heading over the pass, I saw a deer trying to run across the highway.  Oncoming traffic slowed, a trucker honked and the deer ran back to safety...again tears, grateful for when they world spares life, when we conspire together to keep someone or something in danger safe.  (Sounds like I've been crying a lot with these last two posts, doesn't it?)  I sang my little heart out as I drove home, listened to music that lifts me up, speaks to my soul and simply felt grateful for the ability to get away, even for a short and sweet adventure on my own.  Feels good to be alive.