On The Inside

I drive an hour and fifteen minutes to get my hair cut and today was hair cut day. Why I drive this far is another story. During the year, except for the summer months, the traffic is not that big a deal. Actually, in the winter months, I am the only one on the road at that early hour of the morning.

I knew I had a busy and hectic day ahead, so I tried to enjoy the drive, but I always worry about being late so I can't really enjoy it fully. Besides, I usually take the interstate all the way there and highway drivers just get on my nerves. If they aren't speeding and nearly running you over, they are going twenty miles under the speed limit and swerving in all the lanes. I eventually got there and had an uneventful hair cut...that's a good thing.

Since my appointment finished early, I decided to take the "back way" home which is basically just a two lane road that winds through the country, through grape farms, corn fields, and small towns. It is beautiful scenery and very relaxing for the country girl in me.

I stopped along the road and took pictures and reflected on the things that are really important in life. The little things make all the difference in any situation or relationship. Take away the courtesies, thoughtful acts, and appreciative gestures, and you have nothing. I guess you do have something. You have two people going through the motions and using each other to make the day easier or more productive with no thought to the other person's feelings.

How often do we take the people in our lives for granted? How often do we as women let ourselves slip away because we are so caught up in our families lives and doing their bidding? Are we so consumed with giving everything of ourselves away that we have nothing left of what used to be an interesting, vivacious, humorous, intelligent, desirable woman?

I think women are like flowers.

We are beautiful to look at, but when our petals are unfolded there are complexities that make us the wonderful people we are...intricate, delicate, and beautiful.

"You don't love a woman
because she is beautiful,
but she is beautiful
because you love her."

"Women need real moments
of solitude and self-reflection
to balance out
how much of ourselves
we give away."
~Barbara De Angelis~
Just like flowers, we need to receive nourishment...constantly. Where do you go to renew your spirit and uplift your soul? What type of activities do you do alone that help clear your mind? How do you make the time to replenish the essence of you? Are you still there or have you disappeared?