The day I stood still

It was one of those days, a day filled with unanswered questions and contemplation. I had been trying to figure out my life. It was the eighties and I was in my late teens. Long hair, tight jeans and high-top shoes were the norm, and heavy metal music blared from our vehicle.

We partied on the beaches and gravel pits, anywhere we Vancouver Island kids could host a party.
But I was bored. I felt that there had to be more to life than what I was living.
I lived with my family on a hobby farm in the bush on a private dead end dirt road. A handful of other farms around us, but one wouldn't know it. The silence and privacy of this area was what attracted us all here.
I was an early riser (I know, not typical of a teenager) I was up by 7am every day, my routine was breakfast and then I would head outside to tend to the animals.
However, this one particular morning was different. There was a fog that blanketed the fields and the bush (Not rare for the island, but it felt different) the sun was trying to pierce it without success.
The air was quiet, no sound and not even a breeze. No sound of birds, mountain lions or even wolves on this morning, nothing but silence. So I decided to go for a walk through our bush along the trails that we made years before.
I entered the darkness and walked until I got to a clearing. I felt as if I had entered another dimension, another world. I have been here many times before, but this time it felt as if I was there for the first time.
I looked around; it was familiar, yet unfamiliar. I looked up past the towering trees; the fog thickened hiding the tops from my view. As I looked up, peace enveloped me and seemed to reach deep into my soul, I stood still, stretching my arms up and taking in whatever and everything I could of this strange but renewing sensation.
I opened myself up, letting go of all of life’s baggage and I opened my ears to hear something—anything. But there was not a sound, as a matter of fact the silence was overpowering, it was so quiet that I could hear my pulse beating.
I’m not sure how long I stood there, but when I brought my arms down and made my way out of the bush I felt like a new creation, as if all of the worlds problems had been washed away.
The sun broke through the fog and the birds began to sing once again. The cool air warmed and I could feel the sun energize my body. I walked back to the house feeling as if I had a new purpose in life. I wasn't sure what it was, and yet it didn't matter. All that mattered to me was that I knew, for the first time in a long time that I was going to be OK. I was happy once again.

One needs to take time for oneself. To go somewhere where there are no distractions, just you and nature. A place where you can stand still and listen, and take in whatever you can, a place to rejuvenate your mind, body, soul and spirit; a special place where it is you and only you, no one and nothing else. Your Utopia.