Today was an adventure day, made more so by the unexpected rain. I seldom set out to spend a day at the beach but that was today’s plan. Growing up in Florida, my beach gear typically stays in the car: blanket, towels, swim shoes, sunscreen, insect repellent, water. I added my beach chair and umbrella, small ice chest, tarot cards and Kindle Paperwhite. I made sure my phone was fully charged. I dressed in light colors for privacy, so I’d blend in. If I’m going to be incognito at the beach, I wear light colors rather than my traditional Johnny Cash black. Swap out my black hat for a natural straw one and I’m totally beige. I typically sit high on the dunes amidst the sea oats for privacy and less sea spray, but if I use the umbrella, I stick it in the sand nearer the shore. I keep the car prepared with everything, so if I want to run to the beach on a whim, I’ve got all my comforts with me. I drove south on US 1 just as the sun was breaking through.
My passenger window was foggy with dried salt spray from the day before, so I thought I’d manifest a sprinkler to drive past to clean it. “There might be one up ahead,” I’d tell myself, just a little focus to attract it if it was to be. No sprinklers. But soon, a drop of rain. Then another. Then a downpour out of nowhere. I knew it wouldn’t last long, maybe 5 minutes, and that’s about how long it lasted. A beautiful rainbow appeared to the north of me as I drove across the Wabasso causeway.
As I drove north on AIA, it was hard to tell at that time of day whether I was seeing fog or ocean spray but the air was thick with it and there was a light drizzle of rain off and on. I checked out several of the beaches along AIA to decide where I wanted to be. I crossed the Sebastian Inlet. I laughed to recall a day in the mid 80’s a coworker and I’d called in sick to work and played at that beach all day. Our severe sunburns outed us to the boss the next day. Good times.
I found a perfect spot and settled in. It was drizzling rain on and off but I was dry under the umbrella. I knew to split if I saw lightning. The weather was a balmy 76 with very little wind. Sometimes the beach is so windy I feel beat up by it. Today was a nice balmy breeze. There were only a few people and they were farther down the beach. No one in the water yet and no surfers.
I did some yoga as I checked out my surroundings. Stretching and breathing on the beach is a whole body/mind experience. I took the ocean spray as salt therapy for my muscles. I sustained more sports injuries this year than in the last 10 years due to basically lack of proper form and overworking certain muscles. I’m a yogi, I’m not used to aerobic or weight training but I’m learning. All injuries are now healed so I’ll be more careful in 2016.
A steady rain began about 30 minutes later, so I packed up and moved north until the sun was out and found another beach. I’m always surprised by how few people are at our beaches and today was no different, at least that early. I settled in to a new spot, I was the only one as far as I could see. I meditated. I contemplated the past year. I stretched and breathed in the ocean air. I watched seagulls and sand crabs and pelicans and clouds and waves.
I pondered the past year and felt it’d been satisfying and productive. I pondered what, if anything, I might want to do next year. I realized I didn’t have many specifics. I want to wake up each day eager to get into fun happenings. I want to connect with friends and share love and ideas and good times. I want dollars to flow in whether I work for them or not. I want harmonious relationships. I want good health.
And I know how to get all these things. I know if I want to have a happy healthy life, then it’s up to me to look for that and encourage that. If I want to be involved with happy people doing fun projects, I need to find those people and look for those projects.
I may think I have to look outside my own little realm to find happy people doing fun things. I may think the folks around me are pretty stupid or low consciousness or negative energy. If that’s so, then my job is to learn what it is in each individual that triggers me and why, to discover what they are here to teach me. Once I learn those lessons, only then will I see there are happy people doing fun things around me right now. I couldn’t see them before I learned that lesson. Now, my world has expanded as my perception expanded.
If I want dollars to flow in, I am the one who has to do what it takes to set that in motion. And it needs to be in motion whether I am nose to the grindstone for 40 hours a week or not. If I don’t know how to earn dollars, then my job is to learn what my skills and talents are, what my natural interests are. Who do I see doing something that looks like something I want to try? I’m the one who has to cheerlead myself on to go to a trade school maybe, learn something I never thought of doing. I’m the one who has to do whatever it takes to move my life ahead.
If I want to be healthy, I know what to eat and how much to exercise and how much sleep to get. It’s up to me to keep up with it to stay fit and vital my entire life. Look at Wayne Dyer – fit and vital well into his 80’s, died in a heartbeat, no long extended illness, no steady decline, just happy, healthy, happy, healthy, happy, healthy, dead.
That’s my goal as well. A long healthy happy life, however long it ends up to be, and i know it’s up to me to make that happen. If I was to die right now, I’ve had the happiest life ever and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Andrea, so much of this article spoke to me. Thank you for validation from the Universe…as usual. Although we have never met in all the years we have communed ( lol) our lives have had many parallels. I will come back to this article many times. Interestingly you were on my mind first thing this morning. Bringing me to read this months magazine first off! Thanks Again, Much Love…Bev Sending you healing thoughts and love for you pity paw!