Learning to Just Be

Our lives are often rushed. This summer’s calendar has been packed fuller than any before—trying to get household things done while running children here, there, and everywhere has me feeling rushed and a bit frantic some days. (Leave it to high gas prices to teach me a lesson about slowing down.)

Our daughter has dance class 30 minutes away and, for the past few weeks, to save on gas, we’ve been taking turns staying down near her class instead of driving back home and back again. At least 12 hours of driving has been saved, but that meant we had to find something to do for the two and a half hours while she was in class. My husband and I took turns “experiencing” the nights away from home.

On my first trip, I visited the downtown library that I had never been to yet. It had an underground free parking garage where I could eat my dinner in my car. I took my laptop into the library, but I spent the first 10 minutes wandering around the three floors to see the different areas the library had to offer. There were so many tables near the windows that faced either downtown or a small park. I found one and wrote for almost an hour. I still had time to kill, so then I read the local paper. While I hadn’t brought my water into the library, I noticed food and drinks were not taboo there.

My husband found a metro park where he could sit and eat his dinner and read while watching the fountains and the people. He encountered families, runners, hip hop dancers, and other people just taking breaks from work. During this time, he started reading a book I had already started and ending up finishing it before me because he had so much reading time. It’s the first time that’s ever happened since I’m the faster reader!

One night, I ate at the metro park, but since it was hot, I went into the local coffee shop to spend some time writing. For an hour, I got to write while listening to some great music from the ‘90s. The barista even offered me water to go as I was leaving and was impressed that I was an author. I definitely will go back there.

Another night, I went to Panera right down the street and wrote and wrote and wrote. Then, one night, I was tired and didn’t feel like pulling out the laptop, so I went to a bookstore and browsed.

My husband spent one night reading some, but also listening to the live music they had downtown. Turns out there’s a free concert every Thursday night in the summer.

Through all the nights I spent downtown, I found myself forced to slow down, to find a place and just stay there for a bit. I spent most of my nights away writing. I focused on just doing or enjoying whatever was in front of me. A quiet dinner outside let me focus on the tasty BBQ beef sandwich. A library let me focus on the plot of my novel. You should see how focused I am at a bookstore.

Those nights helped remind me to be where I am, and I started to apply it more at home. I often move from task to task, or even multitask a lot. But I don’t have to rush from one thing to another. I can enjoy making dinner. I can spend time looking at my daylilies. I can sit and listen to a child’s joke. I can just be.

Copyright © 2022 Sarah Anne Carter