And it's in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing except the craft village for about 5 miles in any direction. No internet access. No TV. Spotty cell service.
When I got there, I nearly panicked. Three days alone with my thoughts?
And then it got dark.
At home, I'm used to the ambient light of street lamps and city glare and lights left burning in my neighbors' windows. In Peters Valley, there is none of that. No street lamps and no street lights on the roads. Just woods, and re-purposed barns and farm houses, and then some more woods. When it gets dark... it's dark. (One night, heavy rains knocked out the power for a couple of hours... hence the candles).
And this of course, got me to thinking... have I ever experienced natural darkness? Maybe? I'm not sure.
A stranger in a strange land without even my technology to keep me company... have I ever experienced this kind of solitude? And actually, the answer to that one is "Yes, yes I have." It is an experience that I recommend... it's both disorienting and reaffirming, a very interesting lens with which to view the internal landscape.
But the truth is that even though I did have a lot of alone time... I was surrounded by fellow students experiencing the same feelings and thoughts that I was.
And suddenly these strangers were the most important people in my life because they offered me what I lacked: companionship and conversation, a link to the outside world, news and experiences beyond my own. But we were all there together, in the darkness and solitude, sharing a space and experience together... and I just was as important to them... and suddenly, there was a lot to talk about.
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