This must be the place: ‘I been livin’ like I ain’t alive, sleepin’ like the sun won’t rise’
Waffle House reading session. Garret K. Woodward photo
There’s a quote that’s stuck with me since I first heard it recently. It’s actually in the story I wrote last week about the newly-opened Astro Record Store in Waynesville: “There’s enjoyment and there’s convenience. As things become more and more convenient, I think people look for ways to invest their time and find enjoyment.”
It’s a pretty powerful statement, and one I’ve been carrying with me and mulling over throughout this past weekend. Especially seeing as certain things I either came across or interacted with seemed to all fall in line with that quote. Such is life, eh? A simple dream we dream.
To preface, these past few weeks have felt like the first real clarity I’ve encountered in the last seven months since Hurricane Helene ravaged our region. This seemingly endless blur of sadness, destruction, chaos, uncertainty, etc. But, also of compassion, and the notion of finding balance in a modern world gone mad.
The haze of Helene floodwaters, of slick mud and rotting debris, of beloved businesses we’ll never get back, the beautiful fall we were robbed of, or the impending winter months where the holiday season was anything but joyful for us here in Western North Carolina. And yet, it seems with this rebirth of spring, so, too, is the rebirth of us.
Those immediate two months following Helene seemed to shake us out of some trance of pace and pursuit, whether it be from being knocked out of cell service for days and weeks or just refocusing on the real things that matter. Making genuine connections with your neighbors. Spending time with dear friends. Being present. Or just taking inventory of the things you’re grateful for in your life.
If you’ve read this column at all in these last seven months, you’ll know (probably too) well how my life was abruptly flipped upside down, drastically shifted left to right (and then some). Thus, I’ve made a deep, sincere effort to once again find balance in my daily existence, personally and professionally (and whatever else).
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So, I’ve been actively trying to embrace a lot of what that quote about speaks to: “There’s enjoyment and there’s convenience.” Beyond slowing down the gas pedal of life in my own dealings — purposely staying local for assignments, actually being home on the weekends — I want to eliminate avenues of stress, pushing instead towards things that radiate calmness, serenity, and a sense of true enjoyment.
Lately, I’ve realized a lot of things that truly make me happy in my life, I’ve let fall to the wayside. When was the last time I pulled a book off my shelf and read the whole thing? The last time I went to Waffle House by myself to drink coffee and read said book? To go for an extended afternoon hike instead of only allotting myself an hour to do said activity? To eat dinner without feeling rushed? The list goes on.
And it’s been incredibly cathartic to wake up each day with a pure intent to do things that soothe my body, mind, heart and soul. Pull Larry McMurtry’s 1970 epic novel “Moving On” (847 pages) and set a goal of finishing it in the month of May. And to read the first few chapters over endless coffee at Waffle House, not a care in the world, and no place to be but in that counter seat, happily by myself.
Lace up the trail running shoes, throw the rusty, musty pickup truck into drive and head for the hills. Don’t compartmentalize your time so damn much. Say to yourself, “OK, I’m going to go hike and I don’t care how long it takes. I’m going to enjoy myself.” Later on, head to a local fine dining establishment, your shoes dusty, your soul vibrating from the joyously sweaty jaunt into the forest. Eat with gusto.
In truth, I’ve never forgotten to have fun and seek out the essence of life — adventure, friendship, discovery, good food/beverage, love, etc. — but, in doing so, I have completely forgotten the beauty and much-needed practice that is merely slowing down. Heck, what’s the problem with even being bored? We’re all so damn consumed with constantly filling our time with activities and distraction, but nobody seems content with just sitting around enjoying silence, solitude.
Even the other day, I found myself in an in-depth conversation with my friend about the idea of boredom. We were sitting in a restaurant observing this family a couple tables over. Parents chatting away and drinking wine, with the kids all glued to their iPads. No judgment on our end about the scene itself. But, I wondered, have those kids ever been bored in their entire life? This is a serious query.
As a kid growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, and along the desolate Canadian Border, I remember many-a-time just being bored out of my mind. But, when it got to that point, I’d just walk outside the door of our old farmhouse and find something to occupy my time. Make a tree-fort in the backfields. Play on the hay bales in the barn. Shoot hoops for hours in the driveway. Or just ride my bike around my small town, soon ending up at nearby Lake Champlain for a swim.
Or read a book in the backyard hammock, usually some World War II history or some music biography (yes, I was that kind of kid) from the local library. And, it just dawned on me, that I can’t even remember the last time I even walked into a library for something. Everything mentioned also applies to being an adult in a wild-n-out world of constant white noise, yelling and screaming from the TV, radio and online or just feeling lost in time of great confusion.
When’s the last time you cracked open a physical book and truthfully read the literary work to completion? When’s the last time you shot hoops in your driveway (or a local park/gymnasium)? When’s the last time you sauntered into your local library for something, anything worth consuming to expand your mind? When’s the last time you rode a bike and went for a swim in a nearby lake?
Honestly, I’m as guilty as anyone else of not doing those things as much as I’d like to. “Oh, I’m just too busy,” is the usual default excuse. Sure, we’re all running around this hectic world of ours. But, if you’ve got time to binge watch junk food reality TV or doom-scroll on social media as a matter of convenience and distraction from boredom, then you clearly have time to spend on things enjoyable and worthwhile.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
