It’s exactly 1.6 miles to get from my home to Contemplation Point at Hollywood Beach. A perfect 5k round trip, as if the gay universe knows I refuse to run anything beyond that.
I stopped to contemplate and write there today, after first contemplating whether doing so would get me caught in the rain on the run back.
It was one of the foggiest days I’ve seen in Chicago in a while, and naturally, I felt obligated to dig for some deeper symbolism in that.
So I stared into the abyss of the fog for far too long, waiting for a profound thought to arrive.
Eventually I just said:
fck it. I don’t feel like thinking.
… and so, there I sat at the crux of Contemplation Point, suddenly uno reversing what I felt like the spot was specifically designed for.
Instead, I started questioning:
What’s the point of contemplation?
Sure, I could contemplate a lot right now.
My career.
My car-less life.
Current crushes.
How my cooking hobby has unexpectedly become a source of happiness I accidently deprived myself of for years.
My procrastination around buying porch plants.
What should go on my July bingo card after somehow filling every square in June… front & back.
But I kind of stopped there.
Because contemplation has a sneaky way of putting the future at the forefront. And truthfully, I think it’s okay for the future to feel foggy.
Perhaps the fog in front of me wasn’t meant to be deciphered at all. Maybe it was there to remind me to stop trying to predict what’s hiding in the distance when I can’t even see it yet.
Instead, enjoy what’s in front of you.
Which, in that moment, was three people jamming by the water with a guitar, a djembe, and a maraca, having what appeared to be a significantly better time than I was trying to manufacture meaning out of a cloud.
And I think that’s the whole point of Contemplation Point, I decided.
Not to think harder.
To think lighter.
My career will cost me time, which will hopefully make costs feel a little less scary eventually.
My car-less life will continue having me exist a little more actively and a little more carefree.
My crushes will keep crushin’ and hopefully continue into something even cutier over time.
My cooking hobby will continue being a source of happiness, so much so that I’ll hopefully eventually stop treating a pinch of salt like a baking ingredient that requires exact measurements.
The porch plants will either get purchased or continue living exclusively in my camera roll screenshots.
July will happen whether I fill an entire bingo card again or only manage to cross off the freebie space in the middle.
The fog will clear when it clears.
Until then, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon than listening to strangers make music by the lake.
And you don’t want to miss what’s right in front of you either..
Like the Jewel delivery order I completely forgot I scheduled and suddenly have to sprint 1.6 miles home for. 🏃♂️💨
Hawaiian Princess Pieces 