The traffic was horrible, backed up for miles with no exits in sight. A 15 minute ride was now going to take an hour.  Noticing it was 86 degrees while I sat in the bumper to bumper endless sea of cars I realized; I could have left earlier.  If only I hadn’t been held hostage by an hour of listening to passionate grandstanding about topics I am not interested in—but I didn’t want to be impolite and cut the person off.

My bad.

I should have cut them off.

I should have just walked away.

I should have…

I was going to be late for the meeting. And I was sweating profusely, and the air wasn’t working.  An eternity passed before I was able to get off that highway and race to my destination.  I was late for the meeting.  And I was basically damp from head to toe.  We couldn’t reach a decision, so another meeting was scheduled.

I closed my notebook and sighed.

Another meeting.

I missed 6 calls during that meeting.

Needing to get on the road and tackle a list of stops in town, I bolt out the door. The first store didn’t have the special tool I needed.  Neither did the 2^nd or 3^rd store but I could back order the product to arrive in a couple weeks.  I need it now.  I will have to improvise.  The pet store was out of my dog’s brand.  There is a huge line at the gas station.  The grocer didn’t have the herbs I needed.  While I tried to collect messages between stops, more calls came in.

Everyone wants something.

I still need to get home and take care of animals before dark—that takes well over an hour.

I’m still in town and it’s hot and I’m sweating and no one has what I need and the calls just keep coming in and I have 18 things I have to draft for projects and business and it’s almost sundown and I’ll be up all night again…and… and…and………

Here we are at yet another delay on the road. OH what next?

I turned a weary eye off to the shoulder of the road.

There he was.

A man, perhaps in his mid-40’s, leaning on a bus bench; back pack on the ground, one leg up on the bench, facing traffic. Facing me.  His hair was shoulder length and wavy.  His clean cut face looked serene.  His posture was relaxed.  He looked so very “cool” despite the suffocating heat.  I was sweating and gritting my teeth and white knuckling the steering wheel, wanting to be him.  That peaceful, serene person.  He looks so content.  And dry.  How is it that he looks so content?  So carefree?   And then my eyes finally focused on his shirt:

“All You Need Is Less”

Hmmm.

All you need is less.

Yeah, less sweat! Less delays! Less traffic in my way! Less…..

Hmmmm. No, that’s not it.

Less.

All you need is less.

Time stood still. Not sure I was even breathing. The words rolled across my mind like an ocean wave, gently rocking me into another realm of consciousness.

What a simplistic thought. How could anything be more simple?

Sha-ZAM!!!   Clarity, like a sunbeam breaking through stormy clouds.

I took a deep breath and swallowed hard. The redness I felt spread across my face wasn’t from the heat.

Less. All I need is less!

This really happened to me one day the winter of 2016. I received the message of “less” on a Sarasota highway.  I pushed through that day, pondering my profound discovery.  How can I capture the essence of “less”?

What can I do less of?

Have less of?

Think less of?

Be less of?

I began formulating a creative plan to “live with less”, starting with initiating an overhaul on my own behaviors and habits. But things were pretty rough for me through the spring of 2017, and went downhill from there.  Too sick to focus, I thought about “less” less and less.

Now we are about to turn the page, say goodbye to 2017, and begin another new year. Just the other day I was passing through that same stretch of Sarasota highway on a little visit.  My head filled with vivid recollections of that amazing experience back in 2016.  I am stronger now.  With great effort, I have grown and changed a lot since that enlightening day.  I am thinking about “less” more…… or thinking more about less?

What a perfect way to wrap up the remainder of this year and launch 2018—focusing on less.

So, stay tuned as I share more about less.

And,

Happy New Year!!!!!!

 

Thank you for reading my post. Did it strike a chord for you or did it seem far and away from your own perspective?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!  All comments are greatly appreciated.  You can read about all sorts of ideas, opinions and feelings from the heart and soul of an outdoorswoman… there are lots of topics covered in my blog category, “Girl Outdoors”.  If you like what you see, please let me know by “liking” my website.  You can even join my tribe to automatically receive new postings ‘hot off the press’.  There’s a place to do that right on my website homepage.  As always, please feel free to share my information with others who may find interest and value in PR Brady AdVentures!  Thanks again!