it felt like we were the only people in the world

There are moments that tear a hole in the ordinary fabric of days, to remind us of how fragile but beautiful being here, on Earth, is. All at once, I felt in my chest a swarm: a million possibilities, blazing rays flung in all directions - past my body and past the world. On Thursday, I skipped work for the first time and joined my friends on a spontaneous trip to Wadi Dayqah, a secluded river valley.1 I'm ashamed to admit that my compulsion to prove my "discipline" at work nearly made me cancel. Then I thought of the cruelty of the corporate ladder, how it persuades rest has to be justified. I pictured myself 10 years later, still climbing, still wondering if I'll ever be praised for all days I had worked that I should have lived. My phone lost signal upon arrival, and I soaked in the immediate relief of being cut loose. Client calls, emails - how small, ridiculous it all seemed at that moment. I swam in clear, pure water and cupped it between my palms to drink. If there was a cure…

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