Photo provided by Sue Vincent at scvincent.com
No one knows where I am. They’re probably saying I’m crazy. That’s okay; I don’t expect most of them to understand.
I’m out here, all alone. Miles away, on another continent. The view is breathtakingly beautiful. The sounds are inherently calming. I don’t wake to an alarm; the slight hint of dawn and the chirping of birds is what wakes me every morning.
Chastity might understand. Maybe one day I’ll go back for her. Or maybe I won’t, if it could mean losing everything I have right now.
What I have now is freedom. Like the gulls cawing above, I have freedom from my uncouth boss, freedom from bills, the mortgage, that ex-wife and her constant prying for alimony. I have freedom from the stress. The only thing I have to stress about now is what I’ll eat. So far, I’ve been able to find a way, every time. This is a life of survival, and I’m doing it. I never thought I could give up that false security back home. Now, I know it’s totally possible.
The beach breeze brings a pleasant, salty smell to the air. Some days, I remind myself that the lack of a shower means a lack of interest–on my house, my credit cards, my car. I let them repossess it, and the house went into foreclosure. Some will say I was only trying to jilt my ex-wife, but they don’t see the larger monster that I needed to escape.
Money is what ruled me, and what was bound to kill me. I was working non-stop, fueling myself with caffeine, Redbull and barbecue. Now, I take my chances on a steep mountain or waking up in a hostel, not knowing if I’ll gather money to buy my next meal, but I am getting better day by day. Instead of getting heart disease, I will get leaner.
In a day or two, I’ll go to visit the monks on the next mountain. I think they’ll agree with my decisions. Learning to do without is really freeing.
*Every week, Sue Vincent posts a photo prompt and a challenge to fellow bloggers. Directions are: Use the image (below) as inspiration to create a post on your own blog… poetry, prose, humour… light or dark, whatever you choose, by noon (GMT) Wednesday 16th August and link back to this post with a pingback.
I invite you to visit the post on Sue Vincent’s blog at https://scvincent.com/2017/08/10/thursday-photo-prompt-alone-writephoto/
I think a fair few of us would be happy with that choice. Thank you for taking part this week, Pamela!
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It’s something I fantasize about!
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Me too, though mine tends to be a remote spot in the Scottish Highlands… as long as it has a bathroom and internet 😉
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This is sublime. Less is definitely more. The monks on the next hill were a nice ending – it feels he is ready now for his spiritual journey having acclimatised physically mentally and emotionally to existing moment by moment. Now is definitely ripe for him to grow in the moment 😇
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