She Paused ~ Vivienne

“She paused in a patch of long grass by a river, taking respite from the city around her.” ~Vivienne

I was on a bike ride, simply because it was sunny.

I rode out on an urban train that weaves through the city.  I came upon a bridge and noticed a path to the side of a river.  It needed to be explored.  I wandered along this river pathways, stopping to take some self-portraits.  When it was time to turn back, I did but I didn’t get far before noticing a patch of long grass and had to stop.

I took off my shoes and felt the grass under my toes.  I sat in it and for the next 10 minutes I felt a relaxation that I pretty much never feel in the city.

I’m a country girl, having grown up in a small town and spent much of my summers as a teen on an island with no power living in a canvas tent (at a fabulously rustic summer camp).   So though I love the culture and activity of the city, I’m a country girl at heart.  I miss the quiet, I crave the quiet.

So for this 10 minutes, that part of me was fulfilled.  Yes, there were cars passing by not far away.  If I looked past the trees, tall office buildings towered over me to one side.  But for that time, they weren’t there at all.

It was just me, the long grass, and the sound of the river rushing by.

I plan to visit that spot by the river when I need it and seek out other parts of quiet in the city where the part of me that finds calm in wide open fields has a place to rest and be at home.