On a daily basis, most of us have a lot to do. There’s work, there’s taking care of other humans (kids, parents, etc.), there’s all the daily personal to-do’s. And there is only a limited amount of time to do it all.
For the last three months, I’ve been “grinding”, as they say. No, I haven’t been launching a new side hustle, or hitting the gym everyday, or any of those things that I lump into the category of “overachiever”. No, my grind has just been getting through each day, dealing with all those things I have to do, plus the addition of dealing with my mom’s heath needs and all of her daily to-do’s she was physically unable to do.
It’s been exhausting. I never had kids, so taking care of other humans is not something I’m at all used to. Yet, it has to be done. Through those months, all I could think about was that at some point, I would get a break and I knew exactly where I was going—-the Oregon coast.
The weather where I live has been beyond “dog days of summer” with days of high heat and then hazy conditions from wildfire smoke in the atmosphere. When I arrived at the coast Tuesday afternoon, it was a blissful 65 degrees with fresh air and no haze. But that’s not the main reason why I keep coming back to the coast.
There is an energy to the Pacific Ocean unlike any other. I love forest energy too, but I like the ocean a tiny bit more. The best thing? The Oregon coast has both! Sometimes the forest will literally go right to the sand of the beach. And for me, this environment is incredibly recharging.
The first full day here I did kayaking in a small coastal lake. I paddled across to a beach on the other side to find that the actual ocean was just a short walk up a dune. And when I got out onto that beach, I was the only person around. That’s another big bonus out here—-mostly, if not completely, empty beaches. I’m not a “people person” on the best of days, but especially don’t like crowded beaches, so it’s perfect out here.
So I logged just as many hours strolling or sitting on empty beaches in the last few days as I normally log working at a computer. I know when I’ve only got 3.5 short days to recoup from 3 months, I have to make the most of it.
Today, I treated myself to lunch at a favorite restaurant that Mario and I enjoyed going to. Once again, I was the only one there by myself, but I’ve gotten used to that, and the empty chair across from me. I could remember and reminisce, and I alway do, especially at certain locations, and it’s always sad. I remember how many times we’d talked about booking the suite above the restaurant and staying the night, but we never did. There’s too many “never dids”.
Was I living in the moment enough all those times when we were together? What about day to day? They always say there are no guarantees in life, and endings can come at any time. But it’s such a modern human thing to just take it all for granted and get caught up in day to day stuff.
Even though the last 3 months were hard, I didn’t want to lose sight of being present and living in the moment. Life isn’t perfect. Sometimes, those hard times demand an artful approach to living too.
I, like most people, do not have the luxury of endless days spent quietly sitting in the forest or walking down empty beaches, or whatever else you do where you tend to be more present. Bringing that presence to whatever you’re doing is an art worth mastering.
