I went looking for Freedom

I went looking for freedom, and found Inspiration, on an autumn night in the darkness beyond the city.

Idleness had birthed laziness, by the evening I was lacklustre. I wanted to write, but it seemed to great an effort. My head felt heavy and oddly numb, as though the surface of my mind had frozen over; preventing the flow of ideas. The forces of procrastination smartly outflanked my concentration, comprehensively routing it; leaving my indecisive and irritable. But I had no patience for any minor distractions, everything I attempted only added to a growing sense of frustration. I felt despondent, trapped mentally. So I put on my trainers, strapped on the Ipod and ran away from the city.

Away from the sirens, alarms and rumbling of traffic. I followed the path of the streetlamps that hung in the air like a trail of phosphorus breadcrumbs, and soon passed beneath the umbrella of artificial-murky light that covered the city centre; erasing the stars from the sky, into the darkness beyond.

Almost two miles, and I reach the church with the abandoned tower and ruined gatehouse, a failing monument to a distant age; with the hidden lights that bring it to life when the day dies. A ghostly guardian standing vigilance over those who will sleep eternally in the grounds to the east, the graveyard creeps into view as I round the corner. Lanterns scattered about the headstones give the impression of a shattered rainbow that has come to rest amongst the dead.

My mind is clearing. Everything is silent, but for the steady beat of my feet upon the road. I focus on my pace, the motion of my body; everything else is forgotten. I can let go, disappear inside myself. Removed from the world I continue to run, utterly at peace. I turn my path and follow the river home; it looks like mercury in the moonlight. A silvery road leading to the city beneath the dome of light at the top of the hill – I am ready to return, I have tasted freedom and thawed the frost that held back my thoughts.

If only I can hold this feeling until I reach home. I have writing to do.