With the combined holidays of last weekend, Independence Day, my birthday and our wedding anniversary, my wife and I made plans to go someplace away from the hustle and bustle of life and take a few days off to recharge. Life has a way of dragging you with it, like trying to take a giant runaway dog for a walk, and until you pull on that leash, it’s a hectic ride.
We decided to take it even further and stay in a remote location with no access to the Internet, cell service or even a landline. It sounded like a heavenly plan to me. I work with technology and deadlines and phone calls and noises around me all day long, so a bit of peace and quiet seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.
Our travels began with a late night arrival and a walk down a steep trail with flashlights to even find the cabin/tree house we were staying in. We made quick work of getting settled in and drifted off to sleep with only the sound of the woodland critters and the many species of bugs to lull us into dreamland.
The rest of our stay was bliss. To unplug from the busyness of our world, the man-made lights and sounds, the constant tug for our attention, the interruptions and demands was indeed a blessed relief. To discover once again, creation in all its glory, mostly untouched by man, was an added pleasure. To sit by a creek and watch birds swoop down to drink from its cool current, to take a walk through the woods and see the vegetation growing wild and free, or to sit very still at sunset until you can almost hear the moment the sun touches the horizon. God truly has made a beautiful earth and we got to “unplug” from our own agenda and our own “world” long enough to drink in its beauty. It was an important reminder that sometimes you just have to disconnect from everything that takes your attention away from what matters the most and reconnect with the real power sources in your life – faith, love, face-to-face communication, prayer, laughter – these are the best things in life, and the only things you can really take with you anywhere you go, even a remote cabin in the middle of the woods.
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Paul Barry is the managing editor and can be reached by email at paul.barry@vicksburgpost.com or by phone at 601-636-4545.