The Beauty at Son Jardin

I'm sitting in a rental car outside the home my great-grandmother has lived in her entire life.

I'm sitting outside in the car, not because she isn't here, but because I'm charging my cell phone.

And to be perfectly honest, I'd rather let it die.

I sat in the living room with both my grandmother and my great mother this afternoon. 

Just sitting. No tv. Not much talking. 

Just sitting. 

Watching the birds. A little napping (to catch up from jet lag). 

Comfortable silence amidst random moments of laughter.

Three of five generations just existing peacefully in the same space.

When I woke up from my nap, I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack. 

And I just stood there. Looking out the window.

The simplistic and intense beauty of this moment hit me. It almost completely overwhelmed me. Totally surrounded me in a blanket of warmth and security and peace.

Life feels simpler here at Son Jardin. And I like it. A lot.

It is quiet. One can think. And from the tone of this post, one can also feel inspired to write.

I don't know about all of you, but technology sometimes puts me a little on edge. 

Don't get me wrong, my iPhone is what I'm using to write this post, as well as checking in to my flights and taking photos. 

But the rapid pace that it requires me to operate at can be completely and overwhelmingly exhausting.

So as I sat with two of the most incredible women I know this afternoon, it hit me again. That two entire generations did amazing things and lived their lives in incredible ways, all without the modern technology I have become accustomed to using on a daily basis.

So, I challenge myself today. I challenge myself to remember to breath. 

To be okay with complete silence. To enjoy the company of my own thoughts. 

To stop checking FB every ten minutes just because I don't want to engage. 

To complete submerge myself in the experience, instead of thinking which filter to use on my photos. 

I will still use technology, for I think it is one of the most amazing platforms we have as a society to connect and socialize. 

However, I find it equally important to be completely comfortable with the falling leaves and a good book as my companion. 

If this is my greatest lesson on this adventure, then I pray I learn and live it well.

"I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude." - Henry David Thoreau