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Alone again!



Sometimes a post just needs to be like a breath of air. For me! So time to breathe it in... 

 You'd think after nearly thirteen years of parenting that I'd realise how important and rejuvenating time alone can be. But no. Clearly I have not made this the priority it should be in my life. We all need to make time for ourselves, don't we? So why was it so surprising how energised and positive I felt after a solo stroll along the back beach this morning?
4W beach on a sunny winter's day

 Sea bubbles and slime green moss were on show at the low tide, and water ran through rock hollows, into and out of rockpools. Foam swirled and a few seagulls stood sentinel.

Sea bubbles
Rock nest
The jagged spikes of reef poked up in between banks of sand. So pointed and irregular. So damaging. I imagined how a wave could crunch a surfer into the rocks. Merciless.  

I marvelled at the engineering of steps by the ocean's carving force. The smell of the sea was all around me, with the sound of water pulling back and forth in the landscape of sand.
Ocean steps




Out in The Rip, a large ship puffed black smoke and turned itself around to head back into the bay. I had never seen a ship turn around like this, and in such treacherous water. Taking a seat on a cold piece of rock, I took in the pier, looking out to its end point. Time was unhurried, and the waves kept rolling in. 
Green point




 After a back beach fix of ocean, air, ships, birds, trickling water, pounding waves, scrunching sand, smells and sun, I felt capable of great giving. This feels weird to say, but I was motivated to make for others and give my time to them. I cooked a delicious lunch, and offered to take the kids surfing. All of this felt wonderful and joyous. This is not my usual state.

 Sometimes it's suddenly so simple, that you wonder how dumb you can be by not looking after the self.  
POSTSCRIPT

 For further inspiration, found this on Brainpickings about Anna Quindlen's A Short Guide to a Happy Life: "Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes..."

 This wonderful interview by Estelle Tang in RookieMag on photographer Bee Walker:
"I’m going to walk at my own pace. I was young, so that seemed like a novel idea to me at the time! As I was walking around, I had more time to look around, look at the sand, look at the water, and I found these beautiful shells. At that moment, I realized that if I walk at my own pace, I discover the things that are meant for me on that road."

Have also just read a piece on the benefits to our mental health of being in nature.
And then there's this stuff, after the meandering:
Back in black
Fluoro fashions

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