How I Spent Christmas

     I spent Christmas in Las Vegas. From Sunday to Wednesday, my family drove from our home's mild coastal climate into what was once the hottest place on Earth, and the lowest point in North America. Then we drove on into the largest city in the Mojave Desert, one famous for being called "Sin City." I learned and saw things I will never forget. I walked on an actual salt flat, the ground pale, crunchy, and yes, salty into the distance. I learned that even though Death Valley is notoriously arid and extreme, it has its own indigenous species of fish and that a Native American tribe has called the region home for a thousand years. And even though a relatively large part of the population where I live is vegetarian like me, I enjoyed some of the best veggie food I have ever tasted in Las Vegas.

And I did it all

Internet-free

     Which was quite invigorating actually. For once, I could feel myself creating my own ideas instead of having them handed to me. I could feel myself actually appreciating the beauty of what I was seeing. I could feel myself becoming more... what's the word... mindful? Yes, I was becoming more mindful. I didn't realize how detached I was from the world until I wasn't anymore. And I don't think it was the nature, but the simple act of not going on the Internet unless it was totally necessary. I wasn't consuming information I didn't need anymore, which let me think for myself. Now I'm back at home, with about four internet-connected devices in the same room as me. Let's see how long this mindfulness lasts; hopefully for a long time.