Wednesday 29 June 2011

Fairy Dust

9pm. The neighborhood is eerily quiet. It’s dark. Should I bother going for my much anticipated (procrastinated) run? There’s always tomorrow, right? Oh, I’ll just go. If I feel tired or scared, I’ll just turn back and come home. So I tie my shoelaces. This gives me one last chance to change my mind, but I listen and realize how pleasant the sounds are. The crickets add a nice touch. The soft, cool breeze against my skin that has definitely cooled since earlier today, which I why I waited so long before I mustered up the motivation to get out for a run.

As I set out for my run, the neighbors' dogs start barking and give me an initial scare. Great way to start the run, I think. But I keep going. One foot in front of the other. I run down the street and turn left at the lamppost. I have the run mapped out in my head. There will be a slight downhill and then a loop in the neighboring subdivision, followed by a slight uphill. And, that will take me to at least 30 minutes, and then I’ll head back home. Well, the sky is becoming darker...

Oh, look.. fireflies! One, Two, five, hundreds! So beautiful! They bring me back to a childhood time when we would spend lazy summer evenings catching fireflies. They light up the entire field of tall grass. Incredible. Well, no need to be scared. These fireflies are like little angels in the night. So pretty.

I continue on with my run, down that hill that is more than just "a slight downhill" and I try and enjoy it. But some thoughts occupy my mind. It is incredibly dark. The trees are more overgrown than I remember them being. Is that a person I see up ahead? Oh, this will not be a fun hill to climb up. Oh, but again, fireflies. And they make it okay again. I do the loop twice, instead of just once. Run up the hill and keep going.

I now notice the night sky filled with stars. A beautiful firmament.
What an absolutely perfect and peaceful night. The run is going wonderfully at this point. I’m on a roll. And all around, I am surrounded by fairy dust. This brings a certain calm and peace within me. And I soak it in and enjoy this summer night.

Sunday 12 June 2011