Sharpened Thoughts: Nighttime Walk (with Added Commentary)

Isaiah 55:9 - "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Yesterday was an awesome day! I accomplished a lot, including diffusing an emergency at two o'clock in the morning, heading to my various classes, adding a respectable amount of words to my count for NaNoMo, and heading to staff meeting and all that rot.

It was also a very vanilla day. Very few things happened that broke the norm or stuck out in any way that doesn't already stick out to me from day to day.

Thus, as it was, 11:45pm rolled around, I'd just finished updating my word count on the NaNoMo website, and I had no material for this particular post. So, seeing as how my day had no documented adventures, I decided to make one happen.

I'm still totally acclimatized to Jamaica weather, and so, with the gradual onset of winter, I've been finding the weather increasingly unbearably cold. As it was, I bundled up in all my clothes, including a heavy jacket, hoodie, and brimmed beanie. It probably looked a little overkill, but I felt nice and toasty as I stepped into the frigidity of the night.

As I walked, I tried taking pictures of my surroundings, including a lonely sidewalk lined with nigh-identical trees and of an empty parking lot, both of which gave rise to some introspective thoughts. Alas, the only quality picture I was able to take was of the moon, which, admittedly, isn't all that great, in and of itself. However, the point is, as I walked around, virtually alone in the night, I remembered why I love these sort of walks. Away from the computer, the writing slab, away from homework and concerns and people, I had the opportunity to find and be myself again.

The rush of the world and my life, while simply lovely, certainly fills and bogs my mind down. Stepping out into the cold became quite therapeutic, as I was able to clear my mind and reorganize my priorities again, putting best before better, recognizing the stored thoughts without merit and disposing of them. I even sat down, pulled out my scriptures, and read a few chapters out of the standard works, shivering and smiling all the while.

I have found the simplest experiences are the most spiritual. Last night revitalized and re-energized me, and I felt more capable in facing the week ahead with a grin I can only imagine as rakish.

When's the last time you cleared your mind? Come for a walk with me sometime!

I wrote a commentary about this post on September 24, 2015. Click here to read!