The past few years of typical busy college-ness (academic work, a social schedule, event nights and weekends, group this's, and group that's) have taught me about the importance of finding places of freedom... places where I can simply
be. Places where over-crowded schedules are restricted and busy personalities aren't allowed. Places I find rest. Places that allow me to reflect, think, be still, sit, walk around, watch people, smile, cry, stare....
I love to give you a peak of some of my favorite places to
be.....
1. On or near a lake, ocean, or river. Growing up I lived next to a lake and often walked down to our neighborhood beach to sit on the dock and think. I've watched a million sunsets on that dock and even woken up for a few sunrises. I've gone there to cry throughout the years... because I was adolescent... because I was alone... because I felt misunderstood... because I didn't want to grow up... because I wasn't sure where God fit into my life... because I was frustrated with God... because I was selfishly not getting my way....and because I was so grateful and overwhelmed with peace at how immensely beautiful and full life is. There's something mezmorizing about watching the water roll by as the sun shines across each tide. Today I went kayaking on the Pacific Ocean, so far from my familiar dock... but I loved every second of it, especially the times I just sat back, closed my eyes, and listened to my kayak move through the water. Here's to the water... a place I can
be.
2. My new couch. I'm pretty sure my parents could have owned this couch their first year of marriage (that's quite a few decades ago). It has a very Stacie-esc '70's print. I love it. My friend Matt was at the thrift store as I was buying it and he (in all seriousness) assured me that I could put a slip cover over it... I then smarted off to him, wondering how I could ever possibly cover up such a rich vintage pattern? I placed my couch by my window and made sure my parents' old '70's lamp could sit right next to it. Couch and lamp perfectly matched to turn a dorm room into a family room, a life giving space. Perfect for a homebody like me. And here I sit, on my couch, with the window open and a quiet sunset peaking through the giant tree outside my window. And a mug of milk (one of my favorite resting drinks) sitting on the coffee table next to me. My '70's lamp would be on but the bulb blinked out today. It's getting old. No matter... this is a place I can be. And I love it.
3. The Huntington Library, Pasadena, California. This is one of those places you see in movies a lot but you might not know it unless you've been there. The first time I visited I went home immediately and looked up what movies had been filmed there because it's too beautiful of a place to not put in a movie (for those wondering, some movies it has appeared in: The Wedding Planner, Charlies Angles, Memoirs of a Geisha, etc.) With gardens, an old manor, a library, museums, art, and tea rooms galore, this place is a dream come true. Freshmen year I got the Palm Tree Blues and found myself missing real trees that didn't look like giant pipe or tiolet cleaners. The Huntington Library cured me of my chemical imbalance and had me believing I'd stepped into a Jane Austen novel or some foreign country with beautiful trees and gardens everywhere. It's a place to admire in one day's time... a place to bring a good book to... a place to bring a friend to moreso for looking than talking.... and maybe even a place to fall in love. It's a place I love and a place I can
be.
