Elysium

Lazy clouds swept the mountain peaks against a brilliant blue sky. An old man in tatter clothes sad on the ground, his back against a massive bolder, his head turned to the sky so he could watch the clouds silently pass by.

Jack breathed in the fresh air and exhaled a peaceful sigh of relief. It had been nearly two years since he had left the rat race behind. In a previous life, his life had been as a corporate lawyer, but long hours and the heavy pressure of near impossible deadlines got to him and he finally broke. In one day he cashed out everything he owned, quit his job and left to live life as a wonderer, to see and experience the great vastness of life rather than the bleak existence of a corporate office.

Birds sang in the distance while bees buzzed from flower to flower in the field where he sat. Jack closed his eyes to hear them better, to hear what they had to say; Freedom, joy, love of life were the words he heard. Jack quietly drifted off to sleep amongst the flowers, birds and bees. It was a good sleep; peaceful, restful and good.

A couple of hours later, Jack woke up. He stood up slowly, stretching bit by bit as he did. He looked over the field where he had slept, taking it all in; the field, the flowers, the forest and mountain peaks, the birds with their songs and the smell of fresh clean air. With a smile he grabbed his pack and started walking to the forest trail that had led him to this wonderful peaceful place, Elysium.