For the last two afternoons, I’ve spent time on the beach. It’s been so windy this weekend–the kind that tears the sand off your skin when you stand! The ocean’s waves are roiled up and it’s such a pleasure to watch them come crashing down. I’ve never been much of a “beach person”, but I love a good tan and that warm feeling in my bones. Though the waves have been wild, I still get such a sense of calm and good flow. Like a deep…straightening. I’ve let years go by without visiting the ocean and I realized that it’s like walking around with 3 limbs (forest, meadow & mountain). I can’t have the whole experience here without the nurturing flow of the ocean. And like a good mother, sometimes she knocks me upside the head with a gentle reminder of her power.

I spent an hour talking into the wind. That’s how I pray now. I pray and trust that someone hears me. So, I toss out my questions, muse on some ideas, work out frustrations and let the wind carry it where it will.

It’s step by step right now, completely in the moment. If someone asks me about next week, next spring, Vermont, etc…I say, I don’t know. I don’t. And that’s okay. That’s part of the adventure–not having OnStar directing my every move.

I sat with my back to the opulent mansions on Hutchinson Island, most of them dark. They all had locked gates & complex security systems but I realized that the owners would still sit on the same beach, with the same dirty plastic bottles around them if they chose to come outside. Here I was, 1500 miles from a state I called home for 5 years, happily soaking up this strange and wonderful landscape. It didn’t require money. It didn’t require an exclusive pass or eloquent prayers. It simply…was. Is. There to be enjoyed.

And so I did.