Three weeks ago I left the comforts of home behind, hopping in a car with four friends to see the country and try to catch some good vibes. Our final destination was California, with a handful of other stops planned along the way. The trip took us down the East Coast to DC, through the Midwest, into the Rocky Mountains, past the grand canyon into the Southwest and finally to the West Coast for a few days in Southern California. We stayed with friends, slept in parks, camped out and bought in the occasional hotel. In all, it was a new experience altogether. Unlike touring there were no load-in times, no hardcore shows, no obligations at all. We drove at our own pace, leisurely winding our way though the countryside, stopping again and again to take in our surroundings.
On the open road, there’s nothing but time. Back home in the real world, there’s never time for anything. We’re always on the go, running 15 minutes behind schedule, scrambling just to keep our heads above the water. I’ve grown so used to this deficiency that I barely know what to do with myself when I actually have time to spare. Tentatively at first, I began to lose myself in my mind for hours at a time, staring at the open road as it passed beneath our feet and disappeared into the distance. For the first time I could really reflect on my life, seeing things in new perspective and learning more about myself. All the stress, anxiety and problems of home began to lose all meaning and after a while I couldn’t remember why I had worried about them in the first place.
The pinnacle of the trip was the Grand Canyon. We drove over night to the North Rim to arrive early in the morning and camped there the following night. The massive beauty of the thing mesmerized me. Humanity, for all its narcissistic enlightenment, scientific progress and technological advancement, could never even dream of manufacturing such a creation.
That night we watched a meteor shower from a cliff hanging over the canyon. On all sides we seemed surrounded by a deep, dark sea as meteor after meteor rained down from the heavens above. No words could do justice to the beauty of the spectacle, its one of those things you had to see yourself to fully appreciate it. The significance of our daily lives, and the arrogant certainty with which we approach our very existence were dwarfed by the grandeur of the moment.
As I lay there on the rocks in a tangle of bodies, with some of my best friends I knew that this was it. I wasn’t sure exactly what it is, but of nothing in my life have I ever been more certain. Moments like those are the ones that really matter. To see the unseen and experience the magnificent, that’s what living is all about. Forget about all the bunk relationships, looming bills, and failed aspirations. Take just a moment to forget it all and let yourself truly live.
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