This weekend, I went to Flagstaff with my great friend Natalie. She met me at my house; we jumped in my car, threw the dog and our clothes in the back seat, and took off to the nearest gas station to fill up on fuel (fuel for the car and fuel for us…that means caffeine and protein bars). In less than two hours and thirty minutes, we arrived to our destination – a log cabin nudged back in the woods. The air smelled like pine.

That evening, after unpacking our things, we went on a long walk through the trails of the forest, collecting pine cones and tossing them for the dog to chase throughout our journey. It was nice being away from noise…the noise of cell phones, of traffic, or television, and car radios. It was nice to listen to all of that quiet, and hear what God made – nature in the raw. The only things my ears could catch hold of were the crunching of pine needles under our feet, the rustling of the wind through the tree branches, and the occasional chirp of a few birds…but mostly, it was quiet.

I think I need a little more quiet in my life. I drive without the car radio on. I prefer listen to the sound of the air zip through my window. I don’t even have television. That’s right! I don’t even get basic cable…it’s just too much noise for me. And the longer I’m alive, the more I live and learn and love reality for what it is, the less I feel as though I need to lose myself in the sounds of ruckus to make my days feel more exciting than yesterday’s…

Sometimes, the best days are the days that are full of free space, free time, and quiet.

-Rachel Curry, July 2009