Lost in Thought

Thoughtful days such as today hold such great meaning to me. I picture myself as the stereotypical mad scientist concocting wild experiments in my thoughts. I get to believing that I can see the bigger picture that most people never see. I sit out in my backyard pulling lungfuls of pungent smoke from my pipe as I mull over ideas. The sights and sounds of nature bring me such joy and delight. I can truly see the forest for the trees.

My nightly outside sleeping experiment is going well. Sleeping on the ground has actually helped my aching back. You also develop this hard to describe third sense about when you should wake up if an animal or danger approaches. Possums seem to be the biggest backyard blundering culprits late at night that disturb my sleep. The occasional raccoon disturbs my sleep as well. These are fairly harmless critters, but can make for heart racing moments of fear during the dark of the night. The weather has also been just gorgeous for sleeping outside at with temperatures in the low sixties after midnight. It can feel rather chilly when I wake up in the mornings.

There is this certain time early in the morning that I call “The Magical Hour.” It is when the birds first awaken and start to call and the first dim light of dawn begins to glow. It is nature’s alarm clock and never fails to happen every morning. What a wonderful way to greet a new day as I open my eyes and yawn; often rolling over in my warm sleeping bag listening to nature’s orchestra before getting up to start my morning coffee.

I have had a severe case of wanderlust today. I dreamt of packing up my big Kelty backpack and setting out on a summer’s adventure. I often look down the road leading from my house longingly for what awaits over the hill. This will urge me to go over and over all my survival gear and do things such as cleaning my water filter. Everything is all packed up and ready to go at a moments notice if the urge to strike out ever overcame me; I so long for travel and adventure.

My biggest train of thought today is how to live without money or to live on as little as possible. I realize to ever be truly free then I will have to find a way how to do this. It can be done as I read excerpts from the journal of a man who walked the country with little money or camping gear today. He spent years just walking across America or canoeing down the Mississippi. His writings brought me great hope that I too can one day embark upon such a journey. Until then, that is what dreams are for. I shall go smoke another bowl from my pipe as I listen to nature’s orchestra while I ponder over these thoughts.