Go barefoot in the rain.

     Today, I looked out my window. It was gloomy and grey and peaceful. I looked out a bit later, and it was dripping rain. So I wrote a quit note in case my parents noticed my absence, and slipped out the front door. The rain was really wild, a bit more than a drizzle. I love it. I

      love the feeling of wet concrete on my feet, and muddy puddles, and grass, but mostly asphalt. I walked to the end of the street. I didn't plan on going far, without my phone or key. I walked on the cement sidewalk, then I switched to the small concrete strip on the edge of the asphalt, where the puddle forms. 

     I slipped on some sludge, but managed to maintain my balance, and smiled broadly. There is no fun if it's simply routine walking. At this point, I noticed the wet clumps of dirt on my feet, and I noticed the cold. And I realized my route had already reversed. 

     I walked on the road, now. The asphalt is the best bit. I noticed the calm. I noticed how anxious that made me, in this busy world. I noticed a dandelion in a neighbors yard, now that I had switched back to sidewalk, crossing the wet, too-thick grass briefly. I picked it up and blew. I blew and blew and blew, until all the white fuzz was gone. And I realized I had gone several feet. And that in that moment, when I was focussed, I had truly been at peace. 

My feet are still cold, my pants are still wet, and I'm already rather missing the peace.