Simplicity and My Cottage in the Mountains

I don't know if I've ever enjoyed distance more than I have lately.

For the last week and a half, I've kind of just removed myself mentally from a few things. Actually, from a lot of things. This mental break hasn't consisted of getting away from home, lying on a beach, and reading a magazine or two. Rather, my break has been more of a physical staycation, but mental vacation: a mental vacation to a cottage in the mountains where it is soft, still, and peaceful. It actually works out pretty well, seeing as I've always been more of a mountain girl than a beach girl.

However, the fact that I'm enjoying the stillness is quite strange for me, because I'm an adventure chaser. Throughout the last few years, I've had to be reminded on multiple occasions that alone time is a good thing and rest is needed. Not simply suggested, but needed. I confess to not resting as often as I should, but I'm the type of person who hops on the next train with a partner in crime and heads to a new town in a heartbeat. I love spontaneity. Making a choice because my gut says so tends to thrill me. I feed off other people's energy. Hibernating does absolutely nothing for me. Most of the time I hate being alone. The idea that I may be missing out on something exciting doesn't settle right with me. I do my best to live life with gusto.

...but recently I haven't felt this way at all.

I don't have the desire to travel somewhere exotic anytime soon. Right now I want my life to be more like a forest preserve and less like an amusement park. Just the thought of traveling drains me. Basement stairwells and rocking chairs are my new best friends. I'm rereading my favorite book series I read in middle school. If you know me at all, you know that I really must be seeing life differently lately if I'm reading. I hate reading. I don't think I've ever brought a book with me somewhere "just in case I have down time to read it." But this time around, the silence is needed. I'm truly finding pleasure in the stillness.

My cottage in the mountains is quite nice. Close friends and a couple family members have stopped by for a visit to have deep conversation and to eat food that warms our stomachs. I've been encouraged and blessed by them all, continuing to learn and grow simply by knowing them. God isn't a visitor. I'm actually renting the cottage from Him. My conversations with Him in my room during the afternoon and on the couch right before I head to bed have been the best of them all. During the times I don't have visitors, I play piano (lots of piano), read, pray, write, think, and dance. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I've needed this break from adventure. And I don't think it'll be ending anytime soon. Before this mental vacation started, I was angry, confused, and overwhelmed. I had so many voices speaking to me that I felt like I was losing my own voice from screaming over them all, rather than closing my mouth, organizing each thought, and deciding what to toss, donate, and keep. This mental escape has reminded me to breathe, relax, and let go. God's encouragement whispers in the wind and His love keeps me warm like a thick, fleece blanket.

It's wonderful, this mental break.

Part of that reason being because I've fallen in love with simplicity. I wish for nothing big right now. I only yearn to take each day at a time, finding success and hope in each one. I need to be investing in the things that nurture my soul regularly. Hourly. Daily. Weekly. Monthly.

I need a blanket and a good movie. I need time at the piano. I need prayer and the Bible. I need car rides with Elisa; lunch with Allie and Kelsey; and Panera with Hannah. I need outside as well as inside. I need family jokes and community TV show watching. I need my car and my bed. I need God's grace. I need Nutella and Pandora. I need to dance and write letters.

These are the things that delight my heart and keep me going. And that's why I don't just want them, but why I need them. They keep my soul alive and my curiosity active. They give me a clear mind and boosted confidence.

So I'm embracing the stillness and not forcing myself to leave my beautiful cottage in the mountains. But when I do leave, when I'm ready for adventure and to rent the new place God has for me, I plan to take simplicity and peace with me.