It’s hard to believe that the summer season has come and gone and suddenly it is September already. Well, Summer hasn’t exactly left us, as we are still very much feeling her blazing presence, but the leisure time, the vacation time she brings along has long since gone. Having been awarded an extra day of freedom from my labors this weekend, I decided to grant myself a little digital vacation time. Wandering through photographs from our recent coastal adventure, I got lost in the fascination of exploring tiny worlds through the lens of a camera.
Category: Hiking
The Sandbox
Every day, from the time we rise to the moment we close our eyes, we hurry. We rush to get ready, we race out the door. All flustered and in a flurry, we frantically scurry from one task to the next. Day after day, we repeat the cycle. Even in our playtime there seems to be this sense of urgency in our race against Time. Be quick! Pack up your things, get to your destination, hit the trail and squeeze it all in before another workweek begins. And we wonder why Time moves so fast. Perhaps he’s just trying to keep up with us. It’s important every once-in-a-while, to schedule yourself a little time in the sandbox. Go play. Take off your shoes, sift through the sand, watch the clouds, chase rainbows, try to capture the wind. Limit your time to infinity and don’t come home until you’ve satisfied your senses.
Peace and Chaos
I can’t believe it is 2017. Another year gone and Time continues to move on, way too fast to grasp. Try as we might, we will never slow it down. All we can do is pause in the midst of this chaotic mess we call Life, and experience the moments as they come and go.
Golden
I love my job and I enjoy my work immensely. It gives me a strong sense of purpose and fills me with great satisfaction. But I do love my weekends, too (as I’m sure do you). I don’t really get those notorious Monday Morning Blues, there’s just not time for that. My work week always begins in a such a frantic frenzy of teacher to-do’s, I have no time to pine for anything. However, I do have my moments of Sunday Night Sadness as I bid farewell to the long-anticipated weekend. Weekends go by so quickly and downtime is so fleeting, it can be hard to let go of those golden moments of me-time.
September
In these desert parts, September is still very much a summer month. And while the shops are inundated with all things Halloween and Thanskgiving, and the foodie realm is flooded with all the autumn flavors, it is still 100 degrees outside and the swamp cooler still a daily necessity around here. But if you are really attentive you can feel that subtle seasonal transition beginning. It is almost imperceptible, but it’s there. That September shift is in the air.
Sharing the Adventure
Do you ever look with longing at someone else’s life and think, “I wish I could do that, too.”? I do. I often wonder how it would be to live a life of adventure, free of fear and full of courage. It’s true, I do. You might be surprised to find that I did not always think of myself as an adventurer and I have never really considered myself to be a courageous person. I recently had the privilege of sharing my thoughts and experience on this topic over at Conveying Awareness with Jessica David. Jessica is a certified health coach who advocates wholeheartedly for awareness and works passionately to provide resources and support for those seeking a path toward health and wellness. I was delighted when she asked me to write a guest post for her blog because I admire and share her passion for living a healthy and satisfying life. And you know how I feel about sharing the adventure of experience! So, pop on over to hear my thoughts about embracing The Spirit of Adventure :)
Equilibrium
Well, I have no idea how to start this post, but I find myself with a little injury-induced downtime and a perfect opportunity for catching up. But I must admit that I’m not really in the mood. My mind is in a cloud of melancholy and I don’t quite know what to say. Seeking solace in my digital memories, as I so often do, I remembered starting this post about our snowshoe outing a few weeks back. A few weeks…or six or seven…whatever. Oh, how I would love to find that secret hiding place, that mysterious abyss where all this missing Time gets tucked away! Anyway, my hubby is out for a snowshoe adventure today while I am stuck at home, pitifully longing for some snow play of my own. And wistfully yearning for a view.
Growing Pains
2016. Imagine that. Another year come and gone, another journey around the sun, another day has slipped away and still so many aspirations sit idly unaccomplished. Not being an especially goal-oriented person, I learned long ago that a list of New Year’s resolutions is no solution for my lack of productivity. And while I firmly believe in the power of intention, I have also come to understand that some sort of purposeful action is required to bring those intentions to fruition. So, here I sit, stuck somewhere between the power of believing and the actuality of achieving. It has been a busy year, a very full year, a time of stretching the cozy confines of my comfort zone and breaking out of my box, so-to-speak. Change is good, but it can also be intimidating. It is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Change is often required for growth and with that comes growing pains. It has been a year of significant change for me and though I am definitely experiencing those growing pains, some things remain ever the same…like the beauty in the adventure.
Gratitude
I know I have said this many times before, but sometimes it is the simplest things in life that bring the greatest sense of peace and satisfaction. It is not always the roughest road, the epic journey or the grandest of discoveries that ignite and excite your sense of adventure. Sometimes it is just a simple exploration, a humble revelation or a smooth and easy trail that lead you a place of contentment and gratitude.
This Land
I have never been one to express strong political views or overtly display my patriotic colors, but there is this song that I really love and I always find it especially poignant on Independence Day. You know that Woody Guthrie tune…
This land is your land, this land is my landFrom California to the New York island;From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters:This land was made for you and me.
Seek a Little Solace 