"Simple" Pleasures

"A life in harmony with nature, the love of truth and virtue, will purge the eyes to understanding her text." - Emerson

The Dallas sky tonight has heightened my urgency to get back to that place where nothing can impede my happiness. In two weeks some of my closest friends and I are going back to that place. "VW Ranch" in Pottsville, TX holds some of my fondest memories captive. I'm elated to be able to bring a few new faces to this place. There's nothing overly special about this place other than it seems that no matter what internal battles each of us is dealing with they immediately take a back seat when we drive up that half mile gravel drive to the "middle-of-nowhere". There are no mountains and no glass-like lake in sight,  just a few bountiful acres of therapeutic Texas countryside. Fond anecdotes flood in with every sight and smell at VW Ranch. The essense of age old memories provided by the historic home that was discovered and bestowed upon the property is overwhelming.  

I grew up a city girl and am very comfortable in the hustle and bustle but nothing is as satisfying as gathering a group of close friends together and throwing a dusty old football around in the middle of a cow pasture. All cares disappear for a few short hours or days. The BBQ pit is going. People are scattered around the ranch fishing at the tank, pushing the limits of the four-wheelers, testing out a carefully crafted potato gun or simply laying in the hammock soaking up every bit of the sun. But my absolute favorite part of the weekend is when the last glowing embers of the fire have died out and one by one we retreat back to the house out of sheer exhaustion or alcohol induced slumber. It's at this point, in the silence of the night, that I venture out alone onto the back porch to take in every bit of the crystal clear sky with not a city light in sight. My thoughts are clearer, things I was concerned about seem utterly trivial, and a calmness ensues. It is a hopelessly romantic setting, I mean that in the obvious sense but also on a much deeper level as well. It's like a detoxing for the soul. A therapeutic calmness takes over my entire body, not worried about impressing anyone, meeting any one's demands, no sense of time, and not a single care in the world. As the sun rises the next morning it's like I am ready to take on whatever decisions or cares I had with a new found clarity.

I consider myself lucky to be able to share a place like this with my closest friends. It is rare that all of our schedules align and we can go to the ranch together and I soak up every minute of it. I can sit back and observe the scene at the campfire, without speaking. It's as if I am observing silently from the outside looking in and my mind is taking pictures of everyone simply happy and laughing at every embarrassing story that we've all already heard a million times. This is how I want to remember my friends, these are the images I will carry with me forever. It's so innocent, simple, vulnerable and truthful.

I live in a ritzy part of Dallas, I get caught up in my work, I worry about time constraints and expectations society has on me at this point in my life - but at that ranch I am able to go to that vulnerable place and evaluate what I want, where I am in my life. I honestly couldn't be happier. I leave you with this quote:

"What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt - it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else. " - Hal Boyle

XoXo Ya digg?! ;)