To celebrate my birthday, one of my requests was a day at the spa. Not just any spa but this Zen-style spa out in the woods about an hour and a half from where I live. It’s pricey but it’s an experience. And that’s what I’m after — experiences — not more stuff. I’ve got enough stuff.

 The day began with a lovely drive on the back roads of Sonoma County. It was unintentional but the GPS fed us this circuitous yet gorgeous route. I saw parts of Sonoma I’ve never seen — so green and lush — it’s amazing how just a drive through more nature, less concrete, can ease your tension.

The massage treatment I signed up for focused on the body’s meridians and included essential oils. Surprisingly, the 75-minute treatment has you wearing loose clothing; it reminded me of a Thai massage I once had. Although I usually dislike lying on my stomach, I went for it in spite of the nearly constant sinus drainage I experience. The therapist moved my limbs in different ways than an ordinary massage would necessitate.

I didn’t fall asleep but I was very relaxed. It’s often disconcerting that you have to get up so soon after a massage but I felt a little less pressure here. I wasn’t forced to face the world too soon. What awaited me after the massage was a beautiful meditation garden which you enter through a gate that requests silence.

In the last couple of years I have a new respect for silence. I crave it. Is this part of growing older? Or perhaps it’s a result of having a neurological condition where I often find my senses overwhelmed by bright light and a cacophony of noise?

Seated under a pagoda sipping warm tea, I just watched and listened (and naturally shot a little video). My body was relaxed, my mind was relaxed. I was in the moment.

Can I capture this moment again and again? I want this moment to last longer. I want this moment to repeat, and repeat, and repeat.