We see things a little differently when we’re relaxed. This is the story of just such an occurrence.

I have a hard time relaxing because I’m always thinking of all there is to do around the place, or all there is to do for my “real” job. I can’t sit on my butt when I think about this stuff because the guilty feeling of not working will keep me from enjoying my so-called “relaxation”.

If I work on the computer all day, as I do during the week, my post-work thoughts are always about the property work – so there is no peace for me most days. Instead, it is an uneasy feeling of guilt (for putting something off; for not knowing how to do something; for doing this when I should be doing that…) and anxiety about various projects. But there is one time each week when I can truly feel relaxed. After a full week of work at my real job and two full days working on the property, I feel neither guilty nor overwhelmed as I take time to do nothing.
All is well on Sunday evening.

This past Sunday after I had finished ripping boards up and replacing the floor joists in what is to become my workshop (not that I know how to “work” on anything enough to require a “shop” just yet…) I decided to spend the last hour of daylight testing out the hammock I’d hung up for Missy the day before.

Our hammock is placed between two young poplar trees beside the spot where our two creeks meet. As I laid there with my hands behind my head listening to the soothing sound of water rushing over rocks, I began to take in the wooded mountainside across the valley.

Looking at it as a whole, I saw a green mountainside rising steeply from the creek bed at the bottom. I’d venture to guess it rises about 500 feet before giving way to sky. It is pretty, as a whole, but static – sort of like a Bob Ross painting.

But swinging there in my relaxed state, I took notice of a single tree. I’m not sure why, but one tree in particular caught my attention for a moment as it gently moved back and forth in the breeze. I zoomed out (for lack of better wording), and noticed that the trees near it were also moving. As I continued to refocus my attention on a larger and larger area, the mountain began to look alive. By the time I cast my gaze softly over the entire mountainside I could see every tree moving around in its own way as an individual tree, yet part of a larger “thing” called a mountainside. The entire mountain was in flux, but the movement was invisible to me at first. It was the same kind of feeling you get when you finally see the hidden image inside one of those trick 3D Autostereograms.

How is it that I could look at something and see it like a still life painting, and then see the same thing as a thousand moving parts a moment later?

I can tell you one thing: It would have never happened if I hadn’t taken a few minutes at the end of my week to relax. It makes me wonder what amazing things I walk by or look at the rest of the week without noticing.

Stay tuned for an update on projects around here. It is almost midnight so I’d better get off here and give my mind time to prepare for sleep. I will give you a preview of the update post though… We rescued a watch-dog. His name is Clyde. He’s at the vet’s office tonight sleeping off a neutering.