Day 9 is here and it started with a hefty serving of natural beauty. It makes me laugh, sometimes, when I’m so wrapped up in my own busy or crazy, that I totally neglect the fact that nature is so gorgeous and all around us, whether we decide to tune into it or not. Whether we are in suburbia or a big city or at the ocean’s edge, it is always within reach, and it simply requires the desire to make it a priority. To look up. To let your eyes linger another second. When we come down to the beach, usually it’s a chance to disconnect from life and unwind. We often stay up late visiting with siblings or friends and then sleep in. But being able to watch the sun come up over the ocean (or your backyard) is a miracle, every day. We haven’t done this as a family since 2017, the morning after the shooting. (https://thegiftofmoments.com/2018/02/21/mom-are-we-going-to-be-okay/) Why we don’t do this more often is a mystery.
This morning, we had signed up to go surfing and figured why not take advantage and start the day with wonder. I kissed the kids awake and everyone tossed on sweatshirts and with sleepy heads and flip flops, we wandered on down to the sand. Not everyone in our crew was feeling light at the start, but just a few minutes into marveling at the rosy dome engulfing us (with my five-year-old like a kangaroo in my sweatshirt), dolphins swimming far out at sea, and sailboats on the horizon and we were all more agreeable. Nature has a way of doing that. It’s my most recurrent lesson during this pandemic. I think I had forgotten, or got too busy in my life to notice or remember, but I glean such deep contentment from green and trees and water and sky and sand and stone. I don’t know if that’s every human or if that’s just me, but it’s such an important thing to know about one’s self. I’ve enjoyed so much seeking out pretty views and forests and hills and creeks these last six months. Slowing down to see the sun come up over the horizon is such a present. Having the chance to take a moment to reflect with a thankful heart on the fact that our little soul was chosen by a greater power to be here on earth, right now, for some purpose, great or small, is so affirming. It’s helpful, too, to realize just how small we actually are (as we waved hello to Mars and Venus shining in the early morning sky) and therefore how little sometimes our “big problems” truly are. Not to belittle our pain or struggles, surely. Hurt is real and it is important to recognize and work through. But…big picture? (A space I don’t often frequent as a tiny-moment-noticer-and-detail-loving-human)… that is important to appreciate too sometimes. This world is all so big. And we are so small. It helps to let go a little when you realize this.
The other joy of mine today was that I got to go surfing! I surfed once back in 2002 in Byron Bay, Australia. The last 5 years or so, our kids have taken surfing lessons here at the beach and I’ve been the early riser, breakfast maker, chauffeur, sideline cheerleader and photo taker during those years. An old friend happened to be vacationing here this week and asked if I wanted to join her for a surfing lesson. I was like, wait, me? Not the kids? It was amazing!! It was really fun and we both had a couple of solid runs, with our kids and husbands all cheering us on, which was just the best. It was nice to switch roles for a change and it made me both appreciate my strength and youth that I so enjoyed getting to do something like that….and also my age as we were in a constant Superman pose as we were paddling into, and getting pummeled by, these crazy waves and then popping up into a deep squat on an unsteady surface requiring crazy core action…when we finished, I was ready for a nap! The kids make it look so easy.
But, either way, those moments happened, and I am appreciative and I’m excited to be connecting with family and friends old and new today on the beach. A holiday weekend makes it easy to find these joyful highlights, but it still feels nice, just the same! ?
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Care to share your thoughts?