It's been said that idle hands are the devil's playthings. It's also been said that the Earth is flat. As you can probably tell based on my six day hiatus from blogging, the last few days have been fairly idle, to say the least. I had no studying to worry about, no errands to run and definitely no reason to change out of my jammies on Valentine's Day (it rained all day, to be fair).
And I guess you could say that at the beginning of each of those days, my mind was idle, too. But by the time the sun went down, I realized that the stillness gave me a chance to think – I mean really just think – about things like life, school, friends, music, the future ... anything, really. These last 72 hours also made me recognize that I haven't had a chance to think like this in far too long. But as wonderful as it is to "just think," it's equally important to sometimes not think at all.
Today I walked around Paris, listening to my iPod shuffle my life's soundtrack, when something dawned on me. It was the simple joy of walking down the street with nothing on my mind except the lyrics and melodies playing through the speakers. The epitome of that authentic sense of enjoyment occurred when "I am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel came on, just as the sun peeked through the clouds. Now this is the type of feeling that I would normally have to do everything in my power to keep from dancing in circles. But today, I just didn't feel the need to resist. I spun around in the middle of a busy sidewalk with a smile on my face and didn't even think about it twice. Actually, I didn't even think about it once. My mind was, in fact, completely idle. And it was one of my greatest moments abroad so far.
Sure, there's been a few days where I've felt really lonely here. At home I'm normally very busy and I'm always surrounded by someone: my boyfriend, best friend, family, co-workers ... If I'm not spending time with a real person, than at least I'm with my dog (who, let's be honest, is even better than a person). The truth is, I've gotten more comfortable with the sort of solitude that comes from being 4,119 miles away from home and the idleness that accompanies it. It's allowed me to really examine some things in life that I would normally glance over. And I think that come June 17th when I step back on U.S. soil, this time alone will make me appreciate my family, my friends and even my dog, just a little bit more. I take them for granted sometimes, especially my mother. So sticking with this post's themes of reflection and music, this one's for you, Mom. See you in June.
And I guess you could say that at the beginning of each of those days, my mind was idle, too. But by the time the sun went down, I realized that the stillness gave me a chance to think – I mean really just think – about things like life, school, friends, music, the future ... anything, really. These last 72 hours also made me recognize that I haven't had a chance to think like this in far too long. But as wonderful as it is to "just think," it's equally important to sometimes not think at all.
Today I walked around Paris, listening to my iPod shuffle my life's soundtrack, when something dawned on me. It was the simple joy of walking down the street with nothing on my mind except the lyrics and melodies playing through the speakers. The epitome of that authentic sense of enjoyment occurred when "I am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel came on, just as the sun peeked through the clouds. Now this is the type of feeling that I would normally have to do everything in my power to keep from dancing in circles. But today, I just didn't feel the need to resist. I spun around in the middle of a busy sidewalk with a smile on my face and didn't even think about it twice. Actually, I didn't even think about it once. My mind was, in fact, completely idle. And it was one of my greatest moments abroad so far.
Sure, there's been a few days where I've felt really lonely here. At home I'm normally very busy and I'm always surrounded by someone: my boyfriend, best friend, family, co-workers ... If I'm not spending time with a real person, than at least I'm with my dog (who, let's be honest, is even better than a person). The truth is, I've gotten more comfortable with the sort of solitude that comes from being 4,119 miles away from home and the idleness that accompanies it. It's allowed me to really examine some things in life that I would normally glance over. And I think that come June 17th when I step back on U.S. soil, this time alone will make me appreciate my family, my friends and even my dog, just a little bit more. I take them for granted sometimes, especially my mother. So sticking with this post's themes of reflection and music, this one's for you, Mom. See you in June.