This week we’re sharing what our perfect day might look like, which I suppose might say a lot about ourselves. I’ve been lucky enough in my life to get real close to perfect more than once, so I’ve got a pretty good grasp on what would make up my perfect day – in case any benevolent god is listening in.
After living in Arizona for six years, I know for a fact my perfect day includes a sunrise. Preferably at the top of a hill on a cool spring morning, a coffee in hand, a friend at my side, birds awakening all around.
The world brightening so gradually you could miss the incremental changes if you weren’t looking for them. Stars disappearing, the ground beneath your feet growing more distinct, the mountains popping up against the midnight blue, now purple, now pink and orange and edges all a-glow. The silence deafening but for your breath and the occasional rustle of a palo verde from the same breeze that’s numbing your lips and cheeks, competing with the steam from your coffee.
The distant trill of a quail, another not so distant in answer. Mourning doves, mourning. And then that held breath of a moment when the sun is about to crest the mountains, the range behind you already awash in warm morning light, the morning bubbling up like water at the lip of a cup, kept back that much longer than you’d expect before spilling across the city at your feet – and you.
After such an event, you can only follow that up with a quiet morning writing session, preferably with a good cup of coffee, preferably at a coffee shop. Haters gonna hate, but getting out of the house works wonders for focus and creativity.
Head phones in, white noise or WIP playlist on, and let the words roll.
Give it a few hours, then pack it up and in, trade those comfy writing clothes for a hiking skirt and a camelbak full of water and snacks and spend the rest of this beautiful (of course it’s beautiful, and it’s also a mild 60 degrees) day outside, climbing mountains and chasing butterflies. Breathe in, deep, tasting the biting mountain air, clearing your thoughts and mind.
Leave the rest of the world behind and below until it’s just you and the trail, rocks rolling underfoot as you climb for a peak you’ll never reach.
And after all of that – after watching the sunrise, after having time for creativity, after hiking until your legs are heavy but your body’s light – gather around a fire with your friends and celebrate the end of the day through laughter and love.
Yeah, I’d say that’s perfect.
