Poem and Essay

What If We Took One Day Away?

Would the world come to an end?

I have no problems today, No fires to put out, lest they burn down the house No troubles to wrestle No burdens to bear Just me and the whispers of the tranquil air.

I have no problems today No jobs to save from the big bad boss No friends to lend No bills to pay early Just me away from the demands that tug and tear.

I have no problems today No solutions sought for a pat on the back No metrics to meet No questions to answer Just me with no reason to pull out my hair.

But then, the phone rings. Oh, how I wish I didn’t care.

One Day Away

In her Memoir, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now, Maya Angelou writes,

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”

What if we took one day away from our problems? What if we decided to step back from the whirlwind of life and simply be? A day where we are not defined by our problems, but by our presence. A day where we are not employees, parents, or friends, but simply human, beings. Yes, a human, being.

Escapism? No. What if this day away is not an escape, but a return? A return to who we are, unburdened by the expectations of others and unbothered by the demands of society.

And no, I’m not referring to a day of self-reflection or introspection, where we can look inward. Those days are powerful and necessary too.

Instead, I am referring to a day in which we do not seek to solve our problems, nor do we try to understand them. We do not strive to do more, be more, or even attempt to be enough.

A day when silence doesn’t scare us and all we seek is the rhythm of our breath, the beat of our hearts, the warmth of our souls.

What if we took one day away from it all? Would the world end or are we afraid it wouldn’t?

Fam, I’m curious. If you could take a day away, just you, no one else, how would it look? How would it feel?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

And I can’t tell you how much I know you will enjoy Gabriella & I — Our Journey With Nature | by Annelise Lords. You will have to experience it for yourself on Dancing Elephants Press.

✍ — Published by Warren Brown, at Dancing Elephant Press. Click here for submission guidelines.