run

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.” Henry David Thoreau

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

I should be writing as much as possible. I should be telling the world about all the amazing thoughts and travel ideas I have for this upcoming adventure to Thailand. But in reality, right now I am trying so hard to live ‘right now’. I am doing what I want. I’m going out for drinks mid-week to be with my friends as much as I can. I’m eating out (I never eat out,) I’m cuddling up on the couch with my roommates to watch a movie because who knows the next time I’ll be able to do that is?

I’m running. I ran for 2 hours through the woods with my friend on Sunday. We ran and talked about our lives. We didn’t talk about two weeks from now, not about 4 months from now when she leaves for South America, we talked about life and where we are. NOW. Now is enough right now. I ran again for 2 hours on Monday, why? Because I could, because I had time, and I had strength in my legs, because the woods were there calling my name.

Monday’s run was alone. I needed to see if I could do it on my own without the encouragement and the footprints of my friend to follow.  I did it, alone. I was there, at that moment loving on the mountains, wondering what the mountains of Thailand were going to be like—and then I dragged myself back to Ashland and reminded myself to just BE HERE. I am here for two more weeks, and I’m going to BE HERE for two more weeks; mind, body, and soul.

 

And then, only then am I off.

Focus

/ Sloan / 4 Comments

I’m having a hard time focusing on what is directly in front of me. I SHOULD be doing: packing, organizing, sending my visa, enjoying Oregon for the last month I have left… but what am I actually doing? Watching a movie and looking up places to travel in Thailand, looking for places to travel after Thailand, trying to decide if I should come back to the States after my stint in SE Asia, trying to decide if I want to get a real job or try and continue traveling some way, some how.

 

While on my run yesterday I looked ahead at the opposite side of the Valley; it was rolly horse and wine country. And then I looked behind me; mountainous, lush…well, mountains—full of trails, wild life and switchbacks to climb. For the first time in a while I looked at them, I realized their beauty. When you see something every day you don’t realize how amazing it is until it’s almost gone. I love those mountains, I haven’t taken advantage of them and should be using them every day, but most days I’m not.

I’m unable to focus. I’m so excited to get going and get out of here that I’m not living every moment I have left in Oregon. I’ve always been bad at living in the moment, being where I am—I will be focusing the here and now on for the next 29 days. Yes, I have a lot to do, but I also can’t wish these precious few weeks away.

 

Or at least trying to be.

Coffeeeeeeeeee

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

The first thing I do every morning is push the button on my coffee pot to start the brewing process, of course this is only if I remember to prep the coffee the night before—most night I do and I’m ever so thankful for my dad for teaching me this wonderful life lesson.

Next, I get on my computer with coffee, breakfast and emails. Not that I get important emails, but sometimes I do, or I check Facebook, Facebook is super important. Next I dink around on the internet, chat with my Mum and some other friends on Gchat. I’m generally up early enough that my east coast friends are at work and bored and I’m just waking for the day, so my grogginess and their coffee induced hyper is the perfect way to start my day.

Eventually I brush my teeth and put my running clothes on—I run, workout do something, then come back and start something else before work. I love my routine. I’m a very routine oriented person. Which is part of the reason I’m so scared of Thailand—I’m going to be thrown out of my routine completely and that’s a scary and exciting thought. I guess we’ll just have to see what my new routine will consist of…

New filter on my camera phone–OR it’s just broken…OR I’m purple and green in the morning–who knew?

 

Well, I’ve been up for about 2 hours now, drank a pot off coffee, I suppose it’s time to go run. What is your morning routine like? How did you deal with it when it got thrown off by… life?