I left Denver this morning around 10:00. While driving through the wide open spaces of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico with no radio and a dead cell phone, I had a lot of time to think without distraction. As I scanned my eyes across God's beautiful creations, I thought a lot about life, the choices I make on a daily basis, and the unlimited possibilities that are right in front of me.
It's so easy to get caught up in the craziness of life. We have everything right at our fingertips: buildings, houses, coffee shops, malls, streets, cars, the Internet, food, etc. It's like we are on auto-pilot, going through the motions of life without giving much thought to our every day routines. We are so busy working and being the persons that society expects us to be that we forget to really live, to really experience life and all that this beautiful world has to offer us. Up until about two years ago, I used to go through the motions, doing the same thing day in and day out. Unfortunately sometimes I still do. More times than not now, though, I take the time to enjoy life, really focus on big decisions before they are made, and don't follow the norms of every day life. I make a conscious effort to change up my routine; geez, for the most part, I haven't had a stable "routine" since December of last year.
When I made the decision to move out to Colorado at the end of June, I unofficially dedicated the song "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks to myself and now think of it as my theme song. Driving through those wide open spaces this morning reaffirmed the fact that those spaces out West was, and still is, exactly what I needed. I needed space to make mistakes, meet new people, live out my dreams, and pass the tests of life. I needed to leave home, to leave everything that was comfortable and "stable" to really discover what life holds for me. I needed to change things up, live my life for myself, and learn through new experiences. Since then, I have grown so much. I enjoy each and every day that I am given. I try new things every chance I get. I go new places and put myself in different environments. Each day I talk to new people and make new connections. I embrace these wide open spaces with wide open arms, never regretting anything and only learning from the falls along the way.
On a side note about the song:
I am pretty sure this song WAS written about me and my mom. At the very end of the last verse, the lyrics are "As her folks drive away, her dad yells 'Check the oil!' Mom stares out the window and says, 'I'm leaving my girl.' It didn't seem like that long ago when she stood there and let her own folks know she needed wide open spaces." Colorado, Ireland...what's the difference. Yep, I get it honestly. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment