Hello all you out in cyberland. Time's been passing at a furious clip in the last month or so. Missed writing, expressing...pondering. Honestly, gratitude has been challenging during this time period, mostly due to stresses surrounding my work life. And this is not the forum to explore these thoughts and feelings.
Tuesday morning after ignoring my wake-up call to push myself out the door to the gym, I lied wide eyed in bed. Sleep was not coming back till nightfall. Caught in that in-between land. Not ready to face the office, and there's too little time to dive into a personal project. Loathe to whittle away an hour mindlessly surfing the web, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.
Ok - I'm listening...tell me what you need? Move whispered back. Your body craves to move.
With that I bounded out of bed and laced up the shoes. If I left right now, I'd still be able to walk to Matthews Beach and back before heading out for work. Perfect.
The air was chillier than I expected and the sky was spitting rain. Thought of turning back a few times, but continued to put one foot in front of the other in the forward direction. About 20 minutes in my persistence was rewarded with glorious sunshine.
Walking alone gives my brain space to process and my soul time to percolate ideas and themes into my consciousness. Gratitude was the order for the day. Finding more ways to express and notice gratitude. When my work life is so chaotic, it's easy for me to fail to notice all the other blessings in my life. Failing brings on the tendency to bark - at the world at large, at myself. Barking rarely is a fix - unless someone is in real danger. And it leaves me with that horrible slimy feeling in the aftermath. A downward spiral.
Winding down the hill into Matthews Beach, I resolved that I need to actively find more fun and joy in my life. And that starts with noticing the little things.
As if on queue, as I contently took time to gaze out on the water and mountains, I felt something drop on my foot. As I lowered my gaze, this 80lb golden retriever mix stood to my right engaging in a full body wag. Looking from me to the neon yellow floaty tool that he just bounced off my foot. Picking it up, I handed it right back. The dog emphatically tossed it at my feet again as if to say " No dummy, it's YOU...you are to play with me."
I burst out laughing as I gingerly tossed the toy into the water. As the dog was paddling away I noticed his owner about a 100 yards down the shore with his other dog. Settled that the dog wasn't lost, I fully engaged in playing fetch with this mutt. Haven't laughed that hard in a long time. He'd come out of the water with the full body shake and tirelessly jump 4 feet in the air as he excitedly awaiting me complete another toss. Loved every minute of playing with my spontaneous new furry friend.
Soon it was time to part ways and start my journey home. With a quick wave to the owner and his call, the dog gave me one last jump and wag before returning to were he belonged.
And I headed out on the trail home, with a broad smile and laughter that I couldn't contain all day long.
Wag more dear girl, wag more.