A week in the mountains soothes the savage beast, no? On the long car ride home, I jotted down some thoughts in my notebook. For your amusement, here’s what my post-vacation brain looks like:
- I want Wes Anderson to create my life soundtrack. If you don’t own the Rushmore soundtrack, you should remedy that this instant and listen to it from beginning to end.
- A week without television-didn’t think about it, didn’t miss it.
- The pressure of the accomplishment is so backwards. All of it should be focused on the journey. I hate the cliché of the word “journey” so perhaps path, a path through a wood over roots and stones. In reality, what else is there other than the path? Why is momentary accomplishment weighted heavier than the trip? See writing, career, guitar, running, reading.
- Every moment should be with purpose. Time to sit and think is worth it. It is not a waste.
- Exercise-Kayaking and canoeing daily. Arms sore. Remember how great strong feels. Allow it to be a beginning towards health and building up rather than down. Choose active rather than passive in writing and in life.
- Life needs to be a balance. Bike, swim, run, write, music. Be the person you envy.
- Learn to make decisions. Even if it’s wrong, it’s just a different path. Err on the side of change and adventure. Great things come of bad decisions as well as good ones.
- Nothing is the end of the world even if it feels like if for a time.
- A job is only a job.
- Buy some short, Frye, light brown, motorcycle boots. Because well, they’re cool and life is too short to go without them.
- Dress, act, be who you are. Don’t wait to be thinner or any other accomplishment. Life Now.
Lyra’s vacation brain brought to you with love.
Life Now. Makes sense to me.
It all does, as usual, except the light brown Frye boots—because the Engineer 12s should never be anything but black and the Phillip Harness ones come in red. And I think I’d like a John Williams-soundtrack life . . .
Oh, but come on now…distressed brown or gray. Life now screams distressed. First come the boots, then comes the bike.
Funny, I just spent a week with my parents and although I’ve never driven a bike I’ve been on them since I was too small to ride on the back. I used to ride on the gas tank between my dad’s forearms.
Oh yeah, a girl needs a distressed pair of biker boots.
Distressed, yes. Brown . . . eh.
Don’t listen to her! (All due respect, Sarah W) Distressed brown motorcycle boots. Swoon.
Desperately in need of the biker boots over here. Yesterday I walked right out of my flip-flop in the rain. That never happened in Vegas.
Sarah,
Listen to Indy. She is wise beyond her years.
And Averil, can you imagine the swamp foot involved if you were wearing heavy biker boots? But man, you’d look cool.
i want wes anderson to be my “let’s grab a coffee and talk about story ideas” buddy. i want to write a book that makes people say, “this book reminds me of a wes anderson movie.” i want his sense of style. his eye for detail. his dialogue. (dear good his dialogue. like when mrs. fox says, “we’re all different. especially him. but there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?”
i love wes anderson so much that when i see or hear his name, i go off on a complete tangent like this one.
did you guys see moonlight kingdom? if not, run, right now, to your nearest theater and catch the very next viewing while your week on the lake is still fresh in your head.
ok, back to your actual topic. here’s one vacation thought that i’ve been rolling around inside my head since first coming to it while floating atop the gulf:
the shape of my body is not the cause of my poor self image–it’s the opposite–my poor self image is the cause of my body shape.
it’s a self fulfilling prophecy kind of thing.
all the pain and anger and resentment that i’ve packed back onto the tops of my thighs isn’t why i feel bad about myself. i feel bad about myself so i end up making decisions that only reinforce that feeling. it’s all flipped-flopped. backwards.
(just to clarify, “feel bad about myself, sometimes”–mostly i’m fine; spending a week in a bathing suit that looks more like something you should wear on a tennis court vs. in the pool has me a little sensitive..you know?)
Yes! That’s it, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mostly we’re all fine. But then let’s say you were just thumbing through some pictures from vacation of you throwing your son in the water and caught a view of yourself in a bikini? Hypothetically we’re mostly fine some times more than others…
Moonlight Kingdom is so, so, so on the list! I cannot wait to see it. And his ability to capture the eccentricities of the human condition. Gah!
Life now. Thank you.
Roll on August when it’s my turn to go to the lake.
Roll on August. Nuts! I just remembered that I wanted to start a book up at Camp like the one you had written about once, documenting wildlife of the human and animal variety. I forgot until this moment.
I got to see a Loon from a five foot distance in the canoe, and another pair with a bebe. Coolest thing ever.
There’s always next year. I love the loons. But this year it’s all about the sun – we aren’t getting much over the pond this year.
All good thoughts! I feel much the same way when I go to my little cabin in the woods for a weekend.
I love reading your posts about the cabin, Paul. In the same way, it reminds me of mine. Except, well, you get some writing done there. Maybe next time I’ll drop my family off at yours before I head out?
Life needs to be a balance —– isn’t it funny how simple that sounds and how easy it is to get (and remain) out of balance? Welcome home, Lyra. I’m so thrilled you had this time in the mountains with your family.
I don’t know who Wes Anderson is, (hold your fire Josephine!!!), but I’m so glad he’s doing this for you! And isn’t that true, the inside pain or joy is what creates the outside. And we do have control over that inside.
Teri! You really need to rent a Wes Anderson flick. It may not be your cup of tea but he is doing something that has taken a long time to hit mainstream theaters and if that isn’t a thumbs up sign, I don’t know what is.
If nothing else, download the Rushmore soundtrack. Just because.
I love your vacation brain and my current work brain is a little jealous. But I’ll try to follow your last piece of advice and live my life now, job and all, instead of getting stuck dreaming about vacations/very early and ill-advised retirements.
My work brain is currently a little jealous of my vacation brain too. Baby steps all around. Baby steps.
(Have we ascertained that early retirements are in fact ill-advised? Just wondering…)
“Great things come of bad decisions –”
So do great stories. Welcome home. Hang onto those thoughts.
Fingers crossed, my dear. I’m holding them as tightly as I can without smothering them to death. Rather like parenting…
I love your list Lyra. I agree with living in Now and the cropped boots. And yes achievements are so momentary, good to hang your hat on I suppose, but we must keep moving. Glad you had some fresh and commuter-free days. Xcat