Day One.

Today was a day of decompression. I have many plans for the upcoming 14 days. I have so much to do that I don't know what to give priority to first. Coming out of that Hell Hole of work I feel as if I can now do everything I couldn't do before. With the sights and smells of freedom, perhaps I was too overwhelmed today. But it wasn't a bad thing, really. I wanted to rest, I had a tough two weeks behind me, and I will have tough (albeit enjoyable) two weeks ahead of me. Today would probably be the real intermission in between.

Today I napped for the first time in a long while. It was the most pleasant sleep I have had since I started working. During the late afternoon it started to drizzle a bit. Along with the grey clouds outside, this made me so peaceful that I felt a nap would be perfect. So I opened the window and climbed into bed. With my eyes closed I heard the sound of rain outside, and the smells of a wet summer day, and I felt the breeze come in.
It was the most peaceful sleep I had in months. In my sleep I dreamt of many things. I recall something about walking outside with Ruth, showing her the various stars, and then we came across a strange comet in the sky. I also remember the sky was purple and pink, as it is in the Autumn and Spring. When I woke up I was feeling cold all over. Keeping the window open might've been a bad idea, but at least I felt at peace. When I was a child I recall sleeping in my Uncle's house, next to a window, with the rain splattering across the glass. I felt so safe and secure while the sky fell apart outside. I was protected behind that thin pane of glass. Today as I slept I thought of that memory and I felt happy.

As I come to terms with the fact that I'm not going back to work for two weeks I feel as a hardened crust around my body is starting to crumble. The crust that was formed by working in that labour camp, which mechanized me into a robot. As that layer begins to crack, I feel my older self - the one who wrote poems and stories, the one who sang songs and played guitar, the one who drew things, the one who adventured into the forests - coming out from underneath. I felt a living mind inside all the frustrations and hardness which developed over me; a mind of creativity and imagination waiting to write and draw and trod once more. And trod I will! I want to go adventuring in the wilderness again. Why, the very thought of it brings warmth to my body.

Now, this is what I meant earlier by feeling overwhelmed. One week prior, when I planned of this week away from work, I had only intended to train and train and train. My intention was purely for MMA. But now that I am here I want to do more! I want to go adventuring in the woods, I want to write stories, I want to meet up with friends whom I've neglected like Francis, and Bobby, and Jyoti, and Bhante Rahula (of the Windsor Temple), and Bhante Mitra (of the Waterloo Temple)! And I want to wake up early and listen to the sound of morning while eating a light breakfast - not at all in a hurry and copiously as I do when I leave for work. And I want to do something nice for Ruth and Alex, who've been beside me at all times and cared for me for so long, and even called me today to come out even though I simply couldn't. Aside from all this remain my original plan: to train for MMA. I don't know how I'd fare at the dojo now that I've been absent for weeks. Would I even remember anything? Yet I must. I must use these two weeks to grow.

Perhaps I can. Perhaps all will be done. Today I have rested. Will that be enough? It is too late now to consider the answer. Whether yea or nay, I will have to start my plans tomorrow no matter what. So with that I end my Day One.

As far as scales go:
Productivity: 0
Happy fun times: 5
Relaxation: 10