Sunday, October 3, 2010

Enjoying the Route Isn’t Always Easy

I consider myself very fortunate to be a natural optimist. I usually don’t have to work as hard at seeing the bright side of things as some people do. Maybe that is why I fall so hard when I start sliding down that slippery slope...

It hasn’t been very easy for me lately. I tell my daughter that old saying “If you haven’t got anything nice to say, then don’t say it at all”, to help her rise above those caddy pre-pubescent girls’ ups and downs... So, I try to take my own advice and attempt to focus on the positive here.

My Dad offers his words of wisdom. Many years ago, when I found myself in another not-so-optimist moment in life, he said to me, “Jen, there is a great Myth in this world… the Myth that the secret to life is Happiness. It is NOT. The secret to life is simply living each day, as it comes... living each and every emotion. When you are sad – experience it and let yourself cry. Happiness is just part of life. It’s just moments. Experience fully ALL the moments. That’s the secret to life.”

So, it’s just moments. Some moments, my breath is swept away by the slightest little thing as I whip out the camera and try to capture it, like this...


Other moments I can’t even see it.

Recently I have incorporated a daily seaside walk at sunrise into my healing routine. Some mornings I can’t even see the spectacular transformation from black to orangey purplish pink flames as the sun takes over the night-time sky, the whispy coloured clouds, the fishing boats speckling the wavy or calm sparkling sea, the swaying date palms, the endless sand, the smiles and waves from the other morning walkers, their dogs giddy with finally being taken out after a long night, the mist, the water spraying morning irrigation, the shadowy mountains far off behind Villaricos or Mojacar, the flowers, the stray cats, the closed beach restaurants with their boats-turned-BBQs, the lifeguard chairs... Some mornings I can’t even hear the rhythmic waves, the hungry gulls and banter of other birds, the hypnotizing chirp of thousands of crickets, the whispery wind, the “Buenos días” from the friendliest of the fellow morning walkers, the chatter of the garbage collectors, street cleaners & city gardeners, the odd car engine, a cat’s meow… Some mornings I can’t even smell the salty Mediterranean or the fresh morning dew or feel the healing air as I inhale or the peace of the sea...

But some mornings I can...

It’s all just moments.