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: Nature
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.
Wonderland
This world…it’s something to wonder about, that’s for sure. We wonder what it could be, what it should be, what it will be, what it won’t be…sometimes we get so caught up in wondering what this world is coming to that we lose our sense of wonder altogether. Once in a while, you just need to escape all those ought-to-be’s and not-to-be’s and go play. Wander, discover, explore. Get lost in a little wonderland of your own.
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 :)
Something’s Sprouting
Glancing at the calendar, as I occasionally do, I realized that an entire month has passed since I last posted. February has come and gone, as if it never existed at all. Dang. How did that happen? Life has been a little busy, I suppose. I recently received a little nudge from a dear friend of mine, who subtly steered me back to the blog. In doing so, she reminded me of the importance of granting yourself the time to do the things you love and love the things you do, even in the midst of an overwhelming set of To-Do’s. It got me thinking about things and pondering my priorities. When Life gets busy it is surprisingly easy to give in to the incessant demands, releasing your grip on your true priorities. However, once you realize the error of your ways it can be deceptively difficult to bring about the changes necessary to get them back in your grasp. Well, as spring sits lurking just around the corner, it seems a fine time to plant some tiny seeds of change and get them sprouting.
Cloud Illusions
If I could have my way, I would gladly spend my days wistfully watching the clouds. If I were allowed, I would simply sit in that hypnotic trance watching storm clouds dance in this great expanse of desert sky. I am constantly amazed. Hypnotized, mesmerized, drawn into that continuous cycle of formation and destruction. It is a meditation in motion, calming my emotions and exciting them all at the same time.
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.
Seek a Little Solace 