Pleasure

“You will be called upon to account for all the permitted pleasures in life you did not enjoy while on Earth.” -the Qur’an

 

Yesterday, I took the day off of job hunting to hike around Sawnee Mountain Nature Preserve in Cumming, Georgia. (Yes, you read that town name correctly. Yes, there is a “Cumming Baptist Church.” Yes, I giggled when I drove by it).  Sawnee is not a very tall mountain, so I hiked around a variety of trails to work up a sweat before heading for the top. On my journey, I came upon the Visitor’s Center, where they’ve built this beautiful waterfall. It was easy to find joy and a light heart on such a sunny day.

When I reached the peak, I was hot and sticky. The view was beautiful, but the air was heavy. I could see rainstorms over the mountains to the north, and I was wearing too tight of a shirt for the weather. I wished I’d worn a sports bra so that I could strip down. I settled for sitting in the shade and pulled out my book. I dreamed about the swimming pool by my apartment.

 

Several pages in, I noticed the clouds heading my way. I continued to read, journal, and meditate, even as the sky grew dark. I was somehow convinced I could keep the storm at bay for “one more page.” I admitted defeat as the wind picked up, but it was too late. I soon found myself running through the trees to the soundtrack of cracking thunder. I accepted my inevitable soaking, telling myself my books would dry, but the lightning scared me.

 

Then I saw an older man ahead of me on the trail. He was calmly walking through the increasingly heavy rain. I jogged by him and joked that it was a great day for a hike. “It feels good, doesn’t it?” he replied. I smiled, realizing that he was not “caught” in the storm. He was here for pleasure.  I proceeded down the mountain, frolicking, laughing, and stretching out my arms. I remembered how I used to love the rain; how I would run outside when a storm hit.

 

This morning, a quote popped up on my Twitter feed that reminded me of my lighthearted afternoon. It said, “You will be called upon to account for all the permitted pleasures in life you did not enjoy while on Earth.” -the Qur’an. While we all have different definitions of what a “permitted pleasure” is, for me, it is the joy that I give myself permission to have, even in (or perhaps because of) a storm.