a town i call home.

when I decided I wanted to live a simpler life, I knew I needed to move from the bay area. my choice of moving up here, a small mountain town in the sierra mountains was an easy one. my mom has had a cabin up here for years and it already felt like my second home. I already knew the grocery store, the post office, the hardware store, the thrift store, the gift store and the book store. what else could you really need? I knew the elementary school was highly regarded and had really good ratings. I knew a half dozen or so people here. so, moving here wasn't a totally new experience. it was a matter of finding a place to live, moving our "stuff" up here and starting our new life.

what I wasn't expecting was how easy it was going to be to feel like this was home. not only from a physical standpoint but from an emotional one too. this is all coming to me as I am planning a trip down to the bay area in a few weeks. yes, I am excited about seeing family and friends, the beach, trader joes and ikea, sushi! and a few other small stores, but I am already dreading the things that drove me from the bay area. I dread the drive and the traffic. I dread the intensity of the electrical current that floods this area due to the immense amount of computer use. I dread the swarms of people trying to get from point a to point b. I dread the competition of trying to make yet another dollar. I dread how I feel when I am there. I dread not being able to sleep at night due to the noise.
I dread the reality of what silicon valley has become to those of us who are not in the technical world.

I have become in rhythm with the seasons. nothing dictates how to move through the day more than the weather up here. one day can be sunny, the next it is snowing. silly me to think that the season would be more defined. in winter it is cold, it snows, it rains. but in this winter we have had temperatures from 15 degrees to 75 degrees. we have had snow, rain, hail, sun, wind, more sun.... spring is soon upon us and yet I hear we are to have a huge snow storm next week. you have to be flexible and be able to adjust your schedule to mother nature's. is that really such a bad thing? I think not. it reminds me daily how powerful nature is. we are surrounded by some of the largest and oldest trees in the area. the amount of oxygen and fresh air that surrounds us is amazing.

I have written before about "simple living". for me it is eliminating the distractions that keep you from being in the moment. when you can eliminate the rush of traffic, the noise of the environment, the air pollution, the crowds of people and the characteristics of a high tech competitive area which has created it's own bubble of life, who can finally really get to the core of what is important in your life and begin living an authentic life. thank goodness my mom found this town 15 years ago, because now I get to belong in this town. a town I call home.