{"id":10449,"date":"2015-05-27T14:25:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T18:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=10449"},"modified":"2015-05-27T14:25:47","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T18:25:47","slug":"chocolate-and-my-own-amtrakwritingretreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2015\/05\/chocolate-and-my-own-amtrakwritingretreat.html","title":{"rendered":"chocolate, and my own #AmtrakWritingRetreat"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"the<\/a>
the author’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first leg of my 2+ days on the train. Despite getting up at 4 in the morning (& not sleeping well before that!), I couldn’t sleep on this first 4-hour trip. Too excited.<\/p>\n

Instead, I looked out the window, thinking of all the ways the landscape was like\/unlike other landscapes. Of how trains are always metaphors (much darker ones in Europe…). Of how time is precious, and to have 2 full days of train, travel, & writing ahead is like a fat 401K.<\/p>\n

And maybe that’s not the best<\/i>\u00a0analogy, but it’s apt. Retirement requires prep, as well as feeding. The 401K does, as well. And a trip on the train? Despite my family teasing me that no one else<\/i>\u00a0would be excited over 2+ days alone on a train, I’m in quiet bliss. I’d be noisier, but there’s no one around who cares. Not to mention I’m in DC Union Station, where I probably could shriek and no one would notice in the chaos & cacaphony.<\/p>\n

\"the<\/a>
the author’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Drinking iced tea, writing this blog post, and looking forward to dinner w\/ strangers on a train? It doesn’t get a lot better. You need to figure out your own ‘train trip’ bliss — something that will give you the time to pursue what feeds you. And then do it<\/i>. Do it for your beginner’s heart. Like I told the girl at the chocolate shop: sometimes we need to give ourselves presents. It’s an investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first leg of my 2+ days on the train. Despite getting up at 4 in the morning (& not sleeping well before that!), I couldn’t sleep on this first 4-hour trip. Too excited. Instead, I looked out the window, thinking of all the ways the landscape was like\/unlike other landscapes. Of how trains are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1026,1027,941],"tags":[11,1181,1187,262,42,807],"class_list":["post-10449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amtrak","category-chocolate","category-self-love","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-chocolate","tag-self-love"],"yoast_head":"\nchocolate, and my own #AmtrakWritingRetreat - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first leg of my 2+ days on the train. 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