Something wild is waking up within me. 

Throughout the day, I carry a nameless excitement with me, a persistent happiness with no apparent cause. 

When I walk, I bounce on the balls of my feet.

I catch myself smiling at strangers without meaning to, simply happy to see them. The world keeps sneaking up on me, surprising me with its loveliness. 

I know this joy is but a fleeting gift, which makes it more delicious.  I suck the marrow from the bones of each hour, reveling in the slow passage of time.

When the rain lets up, I put on some sneakers, and lope down the steps of my apartment building, towards the old cobblestone path that runs along the sea shore. The moon rises, a silvery phantom emerging from pillowy clouds, dodging between silhouettes of palm trees, then finally, singing in the rose-colored sky. 

The forest hillside hums with new life after five straight days of rain, buzzing with contentment, a long thirst finally satiated. Primal energy pulses around me, palpable and contagious. When I allow myself to fall into its rhythm,  I feel more animal than human. My breath comes effortlessly. I am in control of my movements, sensitive to each muscle in my body, drunk with vitality. I run as fast as I can, just to feel the wind on my face, and the familiar burn in my legs, and beads of sweat cooling my skin.

Somehow I know that this is what I have been longing for—the feeling of freedom, a present moment so exuberant that it bleeds over into the future. Something has finally clicked into place, as if my soul, for a moment, has dropped back into my body.