An Outdoor Living Room

Outdoor sitting spaces in Hawaii are magical. I relish the sounds of nature, busy but soft and nurturing. Birds sweep through the space, then out of sight. Breezes come and go at their leisure. Cushions grow warm in the sunlight. The soft sound of the surf swooshes in the background. I find that when I sit in one of these spaces time is slower, more significant.

One morning I actually watched the sun move. I saw the shadow cast by a vase chase the golden light across the floor. One afternoon I felt a change in the air, a moist wind seeped in and then a light rain followed. I miss these sensations when I’m closed up in my little office at home, fighting off chilled air with a space heater, always at my feet. I’m tired of being cold, tired of being inside, tired of being disconnected from the rhythms of the day, rhythms heralded by birds and breezes and the spinning of the planet.

So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to stare at the pictures here until they are imprinted clearly on the canvas of my mind. Then when I get tired of the cold and the claustrophobia, I’m going to conjure up these images and the sounds and the sensations of sitting in an outdoor living room. And then I’ll be able to endure a little longer being trapped inside, hiding from chilled air.