I went sailing today after church on a 52-foot beneteau with a great group of people in Charleston. I felt a sense of joy to be back at my church by the water, realizing how touched my life has been by God. I felt, once again, the sense of joy and mindfulness that sailing offers – and thrilled at being able to don a foul weather jacket in Charleston for a couple of hours in Feb. (By 4 pm, it warmed up to 70 degrees and the wind died down). I came home to dad grilling outside and mom setting the table, the porch door carelessly flung open. It spread a feeling of the old days of summer and childhood wafting through the house. No formality, ever. There is a lightness in letting go, relaxing. The thickness and promise of summer sent a surge of energy through me. I think we seek this energy in our cell phones, in a cup of morning coffee, or in our dreams. I don’t think society as a whole is ‘tired” when we reach for that third coffee in the day. I think most of us feel a sense of lack. We know that feeling this alive is possible, especially if we are fortunate enough to feel peace at some point in our childhood. But, most days, we search for peace of mind in the wrong places. The joy and meaning of life get pulled out to sea by deadlines, 9-5 jobs, the need to achieve, to become, to thrive, to make money, to fall in love, to buy a home, to travel, to: __
Mantra: “A simple way of life awaits me right now, peace in this moment. I turn away from it all the time, but today it found me.”