It takes a while to get my head back on after some time away, to cajole myself back into the rhythms of daily life. Here but not here. Were it not for who or what waits for me back at home, I might keep going. 

Stepping out of the daily-ness calls a lot into question about how our time is spent and why.

Purpose? Obligation? Quality of life? Survival? Necessity? I find myself wanting to purge, reduce, simplify, quiet myself, retreat inward. Some things come into sharper focus (mostly the questions). Others seem extraneous. 

I want to get closer to the core, hash out the new information I'm trying to reconcile, sift through the questions. I ask "why" a lot. 

Then dive into work. I comb through the house, evicting the unnecessary, bags and piles scooped up, moved out. I'm slow to resurface. Small talk is tiresome. I'm here but not here, thinking about when I'll be going again. 

A hot cup of coffee, a notebook and the voice of someone beloved are nice anywhere.

But connecting with strangers, random intersections, getting lost, is where I find myself. 

"My heart pulls me to wander, because movement is my classroom." - cb