Movement is Medicine
It was the Friday before Thanksgiving, the first day of a life I hadn’t planned for. After being laid off from my job of nearly 30 years, I needed to find my footing and figure out what my next steps were going to be. My plan, load Baxter into the car and drive to Moab, UT.
Moab is my happy place. I go there at least a couple times a year. I have my favorite places to stay, my favorite restaurants to eat at and I love the hiking in Utah. This trip though, i wasn’t just hiking, I was adjusting to my new normal, and overcoming the cloud of anxiety around it.
I only had two days in Moab before I had to leave for St. George for my annual Friendsgiving, but those forty-eight hours reminded me of a fundamental truth: my best therapist is exercise. When I felt my anxiety take hold, I went on a hike. There’s something about getting your blood pumping while in nature that helps you put everything in perspective.
I spent my time in St. George with good friends, exploring the beauty of Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks. Amidst the desert beauty, the anxiety started to ease and I started feeling more like myself. The “what ifs” that were circling my mind became “why nots.”
It was while I was in St George that I realized I didn’t have to go home. I had no meetings, no deadlines, nothing but free time and a full tank of gas. I looked at the map and saw Page AZ was only a few hours away. I thought why not? I booked a cheap but nice AirBnB and went to Page for a few days. While there I hiked Antelope Canyon, saw Horseshoe Bend and drove Monument Valley.
When my time in Page was ending, I looked at the map again and realized I was close to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. I booked another last minute AirBnB in Escalante, UT and spent a few days there, hiking Lower Calf Falls and driving the Burr Trail.
At some point during this adventure the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. I was tired of booking rooms and checking out by 11:00 AM. I wanted to stay in the scenery. I decided right then: I wasn’t going back to work yet. I had been given the rare gift of time and I was going to take advantage of it. To make this life work, I didn’t need an office.
I needed a van.