some necessary acknowledgments

Here are some of the great things about living where I do:
1. Coming home from the city: It's so dark when I get home (and I always forget my flashlight) that I have to walk slowly, feeling the ground with my feet before each step down the long black driveway. I always get a little thrill of fear from the total darkness. And it jolts me out of my city haze back into reality.
2. I don't spend any money over here. I don't think about things I want to buy - I don't get object envy. The build-up of material wants from the city just dissolves when I step off the boat.
3. People smile and wave when they pass you in a car. They smile and say hello when they pass you on the trail. I feel like I actually belong to this place, but I also have a comfortable anonymity.
4. There are no distractions or empty fillers here for me. A day off feels long and luxurious, full of quiet and space. It feels like there is ample time to both work and to relax - I practiced for hours today, and went for a long walk, and had a nap, and read my book, and still the evening is young.
5. The ocean is just right there. Right there.
6. I can walk out my door and smell all my favourite things about life in one big gulp of air. Rain, woodfires, ocean, wet leaves, pine...
7. I never give any thought to how I look or what I'm wearing. I never feel inadequate or self-conscious when I'm out - and you can tell most everyone feels the same. It's completely the opposite from being in town.
8. Even though I mostly keep to myself, I know there's a lot of community I could get involved with, if I chose to. I don't feel isolated.
9. Beauty is thick and lush everywhere and I see deer and ravens and eagles and all kinds of creatures everyday. There's so much nature, that creativity is just a given.
10. Silence. I get to hear SILENCE !!

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