Days 21 & 22 - Evan

Bio: A good phrase to describe Evan is “warrior poet.” It’s from Braveheart, which is one of his favorite movies. It’s totally true – he’s got a warrior’s heart and a worshiper’s spirit. He’s an artist and super talented on the guitar. Evan is also one of the strongest people I know. He was just built that way – broad shoulders and super solid core. He’s got red hair but he’s not prone to anger and is in fact very mellow. (Stereotype debunked!) I lived with him for two years and he is one of my favorite roommates.

Challenge: My challenge to you is to spend the day in silence. Do not speak a word, make a noise, watch tv, listen to the radio, anything. I do realize that this is a word day and I don't want you to lose your job - so speak if you absolutely have to at work but do your best not to. I want you to spend the day reflecting on life, the past 30 years and the next. You are required to find a place (hopefully outdoors, I know it's hot but do your best) and spend an hour in prayer / scripture. And one more requirement. choose one of these: 1. Go kayaking in silence, 2. Go biking in nature, 3. Go for a walk around a lake or park in silence.

 

24 hours of silence. GO!

Reaction: Uh oh. (The first day I read this was the day of the flash mob.) Gonna be pretty hard to get through a flash mob without talking.  I may have to give myself some exceptions.

Recap: As I mentioned in the previous post, this first day did not go well. (Which is why it became a two-day challenge!) I didn’t listen to music on the way to work, which was different. Once at work, I spoke as little as possible. I did answer the phone when it rang, of course, but otherwise avoided conversations. After lunch I was overcome with sleepiness, and could have used a little background music to help stay alert. A number of these challenges have forced me to confront how poor my sleeping habits are. Man!

With little co-worker interaction, it was sort of a lonely day at work. But the day came to an end eventually and I scooted over to the flash mob and my self-declared exemption from the silence. As I said last post, Evan found out I was talking and declared my challenge failed and that I would have to do-over. I was a little peeved, honestly, because I had already spent ALL DAY at work being silent. But he was the challenge-giver, and I actually hadn’t gotten a challenge for the next day, so…

Day two was better. One, with my preparation the first day, I knew a bit what to expect. I came prepared. No radio on the way to work. Few phone calls and no co-worker visits. I didn’t even get on the internet. I didn’t even text! After another long day at work, I was determined not to get tripped up in the evening, so I did not even go home.

I went back to the Lake.

Lake Arcadia had been such a wonderful, refreshing experience the first time I decided to go back and watch the sunset again. I knew no one would be there. I parked the car outside the gate and hiked in, enjoying a second visit to the tranquil nature. Or, mostly tranquil.

I had my Bible with me and read a couple Psalms in a spot with a different angle on the lake. I sat with my back to a tree and watched the golden sun sink below the horizon. The lake had a gentle, cool breeze coming off, and I was really enjoying the moment. Then I heard it.

I think it was a deer, just a severely asthmatic one. It was this heaving, panting almost groaning noise. It sort of came out of the blue too. It wasn’t a noise that slowly built until I heard it. It was suddenly, almost explosively loud. I jumped and I think gasped a bit. My movement / noise in turn scared whatever animal was making the noise, because I heard it bolt from my left side. I never caught sight of it, but I think both of us scared each other pretty good.

Even though I’d heard it leave, my imagination started to go to work on the “I’m alone in the woods as twilight deepens” vein. I could definitely picture a lot of grisly endings to my evening. So I packed up my stuff and hiked out.

Once back home, I was worried my roommate Jerrod would be there. (He’s such a talker and would no doubt make me break the challenge. Just kidding about the talking bit.) But he was gone, so I cleaned my room a bit, took a shower, and went to bed. I slept good that night.