It's been a long time

Over a year now, in fact. Life has taken me away - and yet, it seems less in many ways. I got my highest college GPA this past semester, but at the same time, I went for months without worrying in my journal, days without washing the dishes. I let myself become addicted to my perfect little tablet, wasting endless hours on Facebook, Pinterest, reddit. Sometimes I'll draw a picture or do something else creative, but it's really an empty life. I have found some peace in meditation, but it's hard to clear a mind full of distractions.

Recently, I've felt the old dreams stirring within: dreams of a simple life, devoid of mindless "entertainment" and full of passion for life. It's funny, though, that that mindless entertainment is what really inspired me this time. Earlier I came across a blog post by a woman passionate about homemaking. It inspired me to find joy in creating a clean home, small though it may be. I hope to cultivate that love within myself.

I've spoken of my love of Star Trek before. Well, I just watched the episode in which captain Picard is trapped in another life on a more primitive planet. Captain Picard is the epitome of a renaissance man, with knowledge and interests spanning many fields; he knows a little about everything, and he's passionate about all of those things. In this episode, he uses that knowledge to live a simple life, but a life that involves science experiments and creating music. Picard spend much of his days tramping through the wild. He even learns to love a wife he didn't know, and creates a beautiful life with her.

This episode really inspired me. I cannot spend all my time in the woods of Utah or charting stars through the smog, but I can live more in the moment. I can choose to live the life I'm in to the fullest rather than on the couch on my tablet, or worse, in class on my tablet when I should be learning (although sometimes... A professor is just rambling on a tangent). I wish it were spring, so that I can appreciate nature more fully, but for now I can enjoy the tranquillity of the falling snow, or the sunrise on the white shoes of the mountains.

It's so easy to fall into the habit of monotony with all the distractions available to us - a life of passion takes a conscious effort. Dreams take work. A life well-lived can be a thing of beauty; we just have to search for it.