I was blessed with two early-morning hours of writing in solitude. I found the event to unfold in three rather untidy stages: the dumping of all that which has clogged my brain–deadlines, to-do’s, anxieties; the recognition of why we’re here in the first place; and the rededication to hold on to those things that are most important in this life and deny the distractors, the life-suckers, the opportunity to take me away from living, loving, being.The picture above (thanks, flickr) is the perfect fit for where I am right now. We’re getting steamed crabs from Ocean Pride just down the street, then heading to the pool for a day of relaxing and communing. But yesterday I took a 200-mile round trip to St. Mary’s, close to Maryland’s southernmost point (Point Lookout, to be exact) to lead a workshop in the teaching of daybook writing. It was a wonderful morning, and I enjoyed working with fellow writers in the rural environs of southern Maryland. One fellow writer even shared a cigar from his humidor, which I find to be a great gift to share among writing friends. I will enjoy it on June 29, when I put Cold Rock to rest, ready for press.

Returning to Southern Maryland, where I lived for most of my 20-something years, was a reminder of a time when I cultivated a love for Maryland’s natural side and began the lifelong process of consciously discovering the mystery of me. Spending time along and on the waters of the Chesapeake and its many tributaries seemed so natural, and every time I return to the area, I return to that time of discovery, of immersion, of celebration.

It’s a good place. In my writing this morning, in those two brief hours post-dawn, I returned to a place where I need to stay. How hard it is, though, to do just that. Tomorrow I’ll go back to school to finish my grades, go through the process of getting “checked out” by admins, financial managers, and our principal. I dumped a lot of the stress this morning in that first phase of my writing. But I’m going to have to make the time again tomorrow before I switch gears.

After that–after all the signatures from the admins and others, I’ll leave and begin the full immersion into recuperating, revitalizating, re-energizing. But I think that this morning already put me on that path.

I’ll be around a lot this summer. I’m looking forward to the journey, the new path, the new focus.