Zoning Out by Jodi Moore

This month, we’re offering random recommendations. Mine? Try something new.

 

Well, duh, you might respond. Isn’t that what a recommendation is?

 

To which I answer, ‘kind of’. Think about it. If you go into a bookstore and ask for a suggestion, odds are the salesperson will ask you what you like and then make their recommendation based upon your specific preferences.

 

I’m talking about something truly new. Something out of your comfort zone. Perhaps something you’ve never considered – or even avoided.

 

I’ve always been a beach person. The ocean was my happy place, where the scent of the sea air, the sound of the pounding waves, the rush of the frigid water sloshing around my toes and the lingering taste of salt on my tongue put me in a meditative trance. I zoned out. It rejuvenated me.

 

The pandemic took that away.

 

On the other hand, I’ve never been a woodsy person, particularly because of the bugs. Truth? I avoided it because of the bugs. But there’s a nature trail on one side of our development and one day, I wandered in. Just a little. I saw birds. And butterflies. And sunlight through the trees. The next day, I wandered in a little bit more. I brought my camera. I saw more. Rabbits. Squirrels. A deer drinking from the rushing stream.

 

 

 

Life.

 

Before I knew it, I had walked the entire trail. It put me in a meditative trance. I zoned out. It rejuvenated me.

 

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is the thing you’ve been avoiding.