Key West Sunset

It was settled then. The winter gloom had taken it’s toll on all of us. We needed time away from the things that drag people into the slush and the cold. So we made a plan to change the weather. Who says you can’t, if you really need to? We made a plan and that was exactly what we’d do.

I packed my stuff in an old case. I didn’t need much—my jeans, a couple of t-shirts, some socks and underwear. I’d wear my shoes and jacket there and once I took them off—they’d be off. I put my wallet in my back pocket, my journal in my pack, my keys in my jacket, and I headed out the door. When I reached the first floor, I asked the guy at the desk to flick the taxi light on. I watched it blink with my heartbeat.

I thought about my credit card that didn’t need the weight of one more charge to take me anywhere. Then I thought about my soul that didn’t need the weight of staying here. That second thought brought a smile, just as the shiny new taxi that drove up. How a new taxi came to be in the city in winter, I’m not questioning. I took it as a sign—like a red bird, or a shooting start—that I was on the right path.

In almost no time the taxi became a jumbo jet. Hardly seconds later, I was on my way into Key West just in time for a late lunch. I checked into this little hotel. It was more like a bed and breakfast with a restaurant, and called the folks to tell them where I was. They’d be showing up in the next day or so. I dropped my jacket on the bed and took up my journal. I grabbed a sandwich at the restaurant. I went looking for some story, some thought I hadn’t thought yet. Maybe I'd find a special rock.

I must have walked for miles around, and in and out again, until finally I settled on this one secluded spot on the pier. There I sat and wrote and ate my sandwich until I saw the Key West sun set gently on the water. Then before my eyes a sailing ship came to take my cares out to sea.

The world is made in exactly the right proportion for living in. I just need to remember not to stay in one corner of it. My soul is so joyful when it gets the slightest glimpse of what’s real.

—me strauss Letting me be