I spent the weekend in Austin Texas, enjoying SXSW, crazy good food, and nature.*
It had been a good weekend for thinking and self-exploration, and with that in mind, I really wanted to catch an early flight back to Atlanta. When no flights were available, all I could do was laugh at the the fact that I bemoaned being “stuck” in Austin, and felt that the gardens might be a good place to settle for a few hours of doing nothing.
At the gardens, there was a gravel path through, well, pretty much through the dessert, and I decided to take a walk and get a little exercise. Half way down, the path opened on a small grove of trees, with tree swings. A family had taken most of the swings, so I sat myself down on a bench swing shared by a fellow journaler.
On sitting, I asked her what she was writing about, and she told me she was learning lessons from the trees. Of course, I asked what she learned. And she shared many important lessons. But that’s not the point of this post.
I then asked, what was the most impactful experience she ever had. And so she shared with me her experience of experiencing connection with the world.
Now, I have shared my own experience of connectedness** elsewhere in this blog, as well as those of others I have met along the way (of note Ireland, Portland, and perhaps Boston and Atlanta), but what she shared was the closest to my own experience that I have heard by far.
Fast forward.
One thing that I came to realize over the weekend was that with my recent focus on interconnectedness due to my personal experiences, I lost my focus on myself as an independant unit. I further realized that I needed to change things to better focus in that direction.
This blog comes from a personal desire to experience interconnectedness, either through self-expression, impactful ideas, or creating legacy, but does not support healthy independancy; being comfortable as a singular distinct man alone in the world. And it is time to focus on that aspect of myself for a while, and try to acheive a better balance.
So with that in mind, it is time to take yet another break from this blog. Until then, I wish you well.
* Side note, in all of my travels I have found locations that have two of the three things I really enjoy (live music, good food, and nature). Austin offers all three in spades with great antiquing to boot!
** It’s funny, because, since my own experience, I have tried to get back to that place of connectedness, and as I type this post, am realizing that to a large extent my meeting with J* provided that same experience, just in a different manner than I had expected.