Just Being

My field ed site, Orinda Community Church, takes a trip to Yosemite every year. I have been looking forward to this trip since I agreed to intern at OCC last spring. Last Friday, the time had come and I headed out to Yosemite! We arrived after dark around 10:30 pm so I pretty much went to my tent-cabin and got in bed. I realized then, that I was completely unplugged from the outside world. I didn't have cell reception, I couldn't check my email, I had left my laptop at home out of fear that I would ruin it, there was no television to distract me. There wasn't a screen to be found anywhere. It was a strange awareness and I'm not sure if it was related, but I had a really difficult time falling asleep. Then I started thinking about bears. There are signs all over the camp warning about storing your food properly including soaps, lotions, toothpaste, anything a bear might find tasty. I would hear something and wonder if it was a bear. Then I realized the noise was coming from the neighboring unit when I clearly heard a human snoring. I finally broke out my iPod (ok, I had one screen) hoping that some music would settle my mind and block out the snoring.

I woke up the next morning and made a PB&J for breakfast. I was acutely aware that I was on my own with no agenda. Sure, I had brought books for classes and had a paper I could have worked on, but I often get up in the morning and check my email while I eat breakfast. I also typically have Ken to talk to or the puppers to keep me company. But Saturday morning is was just me, the birds, the squirrels and the Merced river. I sat on a tree stump next to the river and ate my sandwich, soaking in the breeze, the river, the mountains. Peace.

As I finish out my second year of seminary, I am reflecting on what feeds me, what connects me to God. It has been really easy to get caught up in all my to-do's, to get distracted by my friend's facebook posts, by what's going on in the news, and even watching television. It is time to unplug, slow down and focus on what is really important.