Earlier this summer I had promised myself a trip to Assateague Island National Seashore on the Atlantic coast. Growing up in a landlocked state, the ocean has always had a special fascination for me. I’d been to the island a few times as a child and loved the wild ponies and tiny deer that run rampant. As a grown up, it was the solitude that I craved.
My first attempt, over the 4th of July, was snarled due to some social engagements and unpredictable weather. But this past weekend I finally made it out there, new backpacking tent practically still in plastic and a few doubts in my mind on the wisdom of a solo trip.
There’s something about camping that shifts my perspective utterly. Suddenly, returning calls, planning strategy, writing reports are the furthest things from my mind. I’m not thinking about work. I’m not thinking about the life in the city I’d left behind mere hours ago. Instead, I’m hoping I’d find the camp site, that I’ve brought enough food, that the rain fly on my tent will live up to expectations if it suddenly pours. Worrying about hair, makeup, and hygeine go right out the door and are replaced with applying sunscreen and DEET and sleeping in my clothes.
Suddenly everything was work, and at the same time, nothing was work. After trekking out to the site and setting up camp, I spent literally hours on the beach, watching pelicans flying low over the waves, snapping shots of wild horses as they stood motionless next to the surf, loafing on the sand and reading a paperback cover to cover. One couple who’d arrived in the backcountry via RV asked me, “Did you walk out here?” I answered yes. Their eyebrows raised.
In those 24 hours, I walked right out of my known world and into a different universe. Reality became a moonrise over the ocean, and dolphins swimming offshore at dawn, and feeling the tide swirl and surge around my feet. It was quieting the noise of daily life and being in a different place altogether.
So what’s all this have to do with dating? Not much – but it has everything to do with living well and learning how to hit the reset button when you need it.
