.....the view from afar

Dear Yogis,

Arriving home from a week at the beach! 

As I exit the highway and begin weaving my way into the neighborhood, slowly winding up our hilly street, I am suddenly surrounded by green.  The trees and bushes dense and lush.  The car shaded by a thick canopy as if I am entering the forest.  Such a sharp contrast to the barren landscape of sand dunes, sea grass and cacti that line the Outer Banks.  So much life here.  Every year I notice it but every year it surprises me. 

Seeing what I wouldn’t notice if I hadn’t stepped away……..

Vacations are a wonderful time for reflection.  Plucked out of our normal environment and routine we can sometimes see things we otherwise couldn’t.  I have been watching this week and here is some of what I spotted.  Many just affirmations of what I already knew and others reminders of tweaks I may want to consider.

The first is that I don’t look up enough. I love the dirt and the stones and the wild weeds so much that I am always scanning the ground……and missing the vastness of the sky.  While doing yoga on the beach each time my arms reached overhead and the eyes followed, the white clouds against the piercing blue sky  made my heart flutter.  In down dog I watched pelicans fly overhead and in boat pose my gaze was focused on where the sky meets the ocean.  The stars at night and the flashes of lightening in the low lying clouds.  All asking me to look up.  Seeing what is here but also opening to the infinite potential above. 

You all know I love to be barefoot.  Since I work from home and do everything outside without shoes, my feet and shoes become strangers in the summer.  So one day this week when I was running to the grocery store, it wasn’t until I had already gotten in the car and moved it, ran back in for something and was getting back into the car that I realized I had no shoes on. Not sure the grocery store would have appreciated my naked feet.  But I sure do appreciate them.

Even on vacation I fall into a routine within a couple of days.  I realize that not only do I not feel confined by routine, I flourish in it.  Granted my beach routine looks different from my one at home (daily hot tub and an afternoon bag of Cheetos), but both provide me with a structure so that the daily to-dos fall into place without thought, leaving me feeling more free to be.  I know for others having no routine is what makes it vacation.  But my morning beach walk, like clockwork, sends me forward in my day. And now I will have an eye on my home daily routine and see if perhaps any portion has become stale. 

What else?  I confirmed that I LOVE heat.  90’s every day and I couldn’t be happier……On arrival I always have to unpack everything and get it all set up before I feel I can go to the beach…...The part of my body that creates too much thought and angst (we all have one) is my belly, and a menopausal one has ratcheted that up (more on that topic in another post)……….  Home is wherever I am (thanks Mom and Dad)…………I don’t think about work at all when I am away. Not one bit.……….I have fears regarding water. I want to face them. It's time.  

Finally, the trip home is where what lies ahead reenters your viewfinder.  Seeing your life as you head back toward it.  An excellent barometer of what is and isn’t working. If there is any sense of dread take time with it.  Look deeper before simply jumping back in. The view from afar can enlighten.

When I arrived home my garden welcomed me with 7 rather large cucumbers! Time to learn how to make pickles!

Stepping away to see more clearly,
SARAH