September 3rd, 2019

Photo By Unsplash

It’s a day after Labor Day. September 3rd. Were I still in college, I’d have started up the Fall semester a week ago. Were I still in high school, I’d be starting my first day of classes tomorrow. Neither is the case for me anymore, I’m living that elusive post-school life... eight years removed from high school. Three years removed from college... floating through the madness we call adulthood.

This September takes on a vastly different feel than those in previous years. In fact, outside of the promise of cooler weather, which we’re already beginning to feel, this September’s arrival is almost inconsequential. And I’m not mad about that. I’m okay with keeping things at a simmer. While the leaves may change colors this Fall, my life - for once - will stay the same. And, with that, I have all the freedom in the world to move at my own pace.

This past weekend, I spent hours hiking and getting lost in the woods at Harriman State Park in upstate NY. Without a care in the world, we wandered, sometimes in circles, following trail markers from one location to the next. Uphill. Downhill. Over streams and too many rocks to count. Our navigation skills were tested and our bodies took a beating. But it was a rewarding experience. I get high off of the grind.

Right about now, I’d love to be lost again. I want to throw myself into the woods. Shake things up a bit more. Visit some new, enormous park I’ve never set foot in. Hurl myself off into the abyss. And struggle my way back to freedom... At the same time, I don’t want to kill myself. I get high off of the grind. But this past weekend was long. And, sometimes, I need a moment to catch my breath.

This September appears quieter than those in the past. The quiet can be a welcome addition to an otherwise chaotic, ever-changing universe. But quiet does not have to mean uneventful if I don’t want it to. I can keep the ball rolling, however I chose. In whichever direction I chose. Whenever I chose. And at whatever pace I chose. I’m not held hostage by the universe or the passing of seasons. I will do what I want when I can.