Sometimes, even the most active adventure seekers must take a break. For the past few days I’ve left the bicycle at home, replaced my hiking boots with flats, and explored what delightful sedentary things Seattle has to offer. And Seattle, a city known for drizzle and coffee, has plenty to do inside!
Avry’s birthday offered me the BEST excuse to have a tea party! Avry asked for a steampunk themed tea party, and we had an intimate gathering at the amazing Remedy Teas of Capitol Hill. Avry and I put on our best “steampunk casual” outfits, and headed off to this chic, modern tea place. Remedy Teas’ mission is:
What Seattle did for coffee over twenty years ago, we are doing for organic tea today. We’re on a mission to bring organic tea and all of its goodness to the next generation of tea drinkers.
I was more than happy to bask in the warm glow of their delectable teas, and nibble on their adorably tasty high tea (called “Hi Tea” there) munchies. It was Victorian perfection!
After getting a bit jittery with the delicately caffeinated chai pu-erh (pronounced poo-air, just for me), the birthday party headed to Ada’s Technical Books. Don’t balk–although ‘technical’ is in the title, and the cozy bookstore is filled with many books stuffed with far too many actual facts (something mildly repulsive to a philosophy student of my caliber), there was a whole section full of steampunk “fiction,” and another section of puzzles!!!
Dan and I (but mostly Dan once I became frustrated–about 2 seconds in) struggled with a wooden Victorian puzzle for quite some time. The puzzle consisted of a wooden box with three wooden posts sticking straight up. There were seven movable wooden rings of different sizes stacked from largest to smallest on one post. Moving only one ring at a time, and never placing a larger ring on top of a smaller ring, we were suppose to move all the rings from the starting post to one of the other two. This description is so long and probably difficult to read because I want anyone interested to join me for an hour or so at Ada’s again soon to finish this problem! Dan and I were close to finishing, but we had to rush off to acupuncture before victory was achieved! No puzzle can be allowed to defeat me in this manner–it won this time, but only on a technicality!
Our last adventure of the day was to Grassroots Community Acupuncture, an acupuncture clinic styled after traditional Chinese clinics. Three amazing practitioners have made acupuncture affordable to the masses by offering their services in a communal setting. By doing shorter consultations with patients in comfy recliners instead of private rooms, Grassroots can offer inexpensive treatments. I had my second treatments in two weeks, because I could afford it, and both have been real treats! Dan, Avry and I spent more than an hour zonked out under warmed blankets, basking in our perfectly flowing Chi! Afterwards, we headed home to tinker around with Avry and my newly rented ukulele!!!!!
Through all of the lazy adventures, I have been meditating on happiness. I am amazed each and every morning when I wake up and realize that I get to do whatever I want to do! Perhaps this seems like a “no-duh” realization, but I have recently grasped the idea that this is my life, and I am allowed–actually, required even–to figure out what I want to do with it. Now that I have graduated from college, been able to get a few decently-paying jobs, find myself confident in securing housing, and able to do any number of fully ‘adult’ things, I find myself in the exciting position to choose exactly how I spend each and every moment of my life from now on.
After years of floundering, I think that I am finally getting used to this idea. I’ve started waking up in the morning and asking myself aloud:
What do you want to do today?
The other day, I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman who told me that he lives a life full of “get to”s today–he has nothing in his life that he feels he “has to” do. I have been turning this over in my head. Living a life full of “get to” seems to be exactly the kind of life we all want. But I think that this kind of life depends as much on attitude and outlook as it does on the stuff filling up a life. And we could argue that attitude and outlook actually dictate what kind of stuff fills up one’s life! When we choose to do things that make us happy, and, conversely, when we are happy with what we choose, then we have a life better than our wildest dreams!
With a mere 88 days left in 2012, I’m choosing a life of happiness and “get to”s to finish up the year! What will you get to do in the next three months? And how about choosing things that will make you happy?!?? Yeah!!!
