The Absence of Plans

My leave from work began Sunday night but it really set in today. I don’t have any upcoming shifts to worry about and it feels fantastic. My life is completely my own. In the mornings I wake up and think about what I’m going to write for the day. I spend a couple of hours writing articles that will bring in immediate pay but after that, there is still time to write meaningful articles for my website and work on my novel. This is the life I want and I’m ready to do what is necessary to maintain it.

I’ve been spending time with friends and running this trip over in my mind. When you have absolutely no plans for a trip reviewing the details take little time. In fact I have more plans for the next two days than I do for my trip. This is scary in a way but liberating in the sense that my mind has the opportunity to consider more creative endeavors. I have time to sit here in the middle of my apartment and contemplate the meaning of life or what changes I need to make to my novel. My mind is calm and ready to receive new, progressive stimuli. I am ready to hang on to thoughts and spend hours enjoying the parts of life we tend to neglect.

I think the mountains will be great for my writing. Michigan is wonderful place but I’ve seen the water tower, Michigan Avenue and Eastern Michigan University so many times that if I never saw these sights again they would be permanently ingrained on my mind. My brain is hungry for news sights, new people and new words. There is a revised version of my novel sitting somewhere in my soul and the freedom to dig it out is upon me. The 41 hours I will spend in transit will be like a little piece of heaven. Sitting still and letting the words come on their own terms without the constant chatter of the everyday will emancipate me. 41 hours may seem like a lot of time but really, in the grand scheme of things, it’s less than 2 days. Think about what most of us do in two days. Work, come home, wake up and do it again. I would rather spend time on a train, traveling through places I’ve never seen before, writing or reading and interacting with individuals from all walks of life. That just sounds like a better fate than the same ole everyday activities most of us engage in. Not to mention, I’ve last year I flew to Salt Lake City and I longing to be in the midst of the beautiful mountains below. Now I will have a chance to see some of them up close and personal. We’ll see how I feel half way through…..this will be my the longest transit I’ve ever been a part of. Could get tough at some point. Stay tuned to find out!