Take It to the Limit

Day three begins.

I slept well and long last night. Could have stayed in bed a few more hours. Woke with some congestion and a little bit of a headache. Now that I'm am upright and have had some water, that's easing a bit. I feel quietly reflective.

If I tell the truth, I will confess that I crave solitude this morning. Two hours from now, I'll be welcoming people to worship so I need to shift some things in my mindset. I'll have a shower and wash away all that's come before. Some disappointment about yesterday's massage and whatever is bubbling up from my inner depths. This is probably the treasure of the experience. There will be time later today for more of that. I can shift easily in and out of what needs to happen today. 

The massage. I went to a local Hand and Stone, because I could get a quick appointment. I booked a hot stone massage. I expected long, slow, relaxing strokes, but the therapist was percussive with the stones and seemed to want to dig out my knots in a single 50-minute treatment time. I'd asked for a relaxing massage with medium pressure. Well, it was a learning experience, and there was enough enjoyment with the feeling of the hot stones that it wasn't a total loss. I've found that, as in many things, an actual relationship with a massage therapist yields the best results. But sometimes you just need a massage, and even a stranger should be able to understand what "relaxing" means. 

I went straight from there to get a mani-pedi. My nail salon is a few doors down from the Hand and Stone. Spent some time on the phone with my cousin again. Watched a little tv. First time I turned it on during the fast. And then went to bed. Only got up once last night. 

I was prepared for a challenging day yesterday, but I felt fine. When I began to feel a little hungry or headachy, I had some water. Today I'm preparing for the empty stomach sensation I've heard so much about. I am still curious.

I will say that while I was out I kept noticing restaurants. More than usual. When I got home I kept thinking about food. I was looking at recipes and thinking about foods I would enjoy. Especially since in about a week, we will begin to bring some foods back to see how we feel while having them. They've asked us to begin to make a list of the foods we might like to try to bring back. It's a weird request to give a bunch of people who are on a three-day water fast. But there's also some humor in it, at least I'm seeing some humor. I'm grateful I can see the humor.

The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. 

Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.