The stillness of the deep countryside in Daydreaming on the Porch

"...I love driving from Sumter to Charleston... I avoid the interstates as much as possible taking less traveled highways through coastal plain farmland and some very pretty countryside. Big, rolling up-to-the-sky cumulus clouds are often bright-white and crisply defined against the blue of the sky... I like to observe pecan groves and cattle grazing as I look out the car window. I never tire of the scenery and the old farmhouses, the fishing ponds, the small country grocery stores and all the unique little towns and communities I pass through. [But] it's strange how sealed up in the car you can be, even if the windows are open. There's always the noise of the road and the wind, but no real sense of what the immediate area outside and surrounding the car is like. That is, until you pull over or turn off on some dirt road and go down a ways, park, and get out and savor th silence, smell how fresh the air really is, and take in as much of the deep countryside as you can, up close and real. You also hear the insects, frogs, and other slight noises and sounds of nature which belong with, and complement, the overall stillness and peace..."

Written in my online diary, July 20, 1999.

I like to go back and re-read old journal entries. Today, I came across this section of an entry from the summer of 1999. It's hard to believe it's been almost 15 years, but it's also uncanny how I can start to summon up the feelings and state of mind I had when I wrote those words. That old entry from Open Diary resonates especially well now because life is more hurried and complicated than it was in 1999, and I have much less time to really slow down and deliberately listen, smell and feel the world around me. There is something about the deep countryside way out along back roads far from Charleston that causes me to pause and wonder where I've come from in such a hurry to get out there in the middle of nowhere, that said in a good sense figuratively. I wish I could just jump in the car and "go" anytime I wanted to, for instance, if I was retired (still a bit of a distant dream). As long as I am a caregiver and working full time, those interludes of real peace far from the city will remain sporadic, but very necessary occurrences.

In the meantime, nearer to home, I can walk the paths a Magnolia Gardens and feel the daily tensions subside and gradually all but fade away for an hour or so. This is the chief balm for my soul these days. But this afternoon, on a warm day in early May as I write these words, a long drive in the country would be so welcome. An hour, two hours from Charleston and I could stop the car along the road and take pictures of an old farm house and and notice, even if just for a little while, how tranquil and peaceful the world can be. Not today, but soon.

I saw this country road out of the corner of my eye on a long day trip last summer, turned around and went back to it and found an abandoned farmstead that was fascinating to photograph. The countryside was so peaceful. I wish I could have stayed much longer and explored further up the road.