Just me and the dog

This morning was beautiful. The cold tranquillity of an autumn day. The sun gleaming, clear blue skies. I took the dog out for a walk and, as always, popped my AirPods in and hit play on my podcast queue. About halfway round, the audio started breaking up. It does this occasionally. I tried resetting them in the case, but they kept glitching. So, in a huff, I put them away and finished the walk: just me and the dog. And, man, the second half of the walk was so much more enjoyable. This is a mistake I make time and time again. I fill my day with inputs: podcasts and music and books and RSS feeds and YouTube and TV shows. Input after input, all day long. It’s my default tendency: to fill the space with something. But it’s when I disconnect that I’m able to enjoy the moment. The sound of my boots crunching on the frozen grass. The birds chirping from the tree branches above. The background hum of a hedge trimmer. Those are the moments my soul is calling out for. Those are the moments I…