When I close my eyes to think of a very free-spirited version of myself, it would be in my imagination of myself as an Island Girl. Coconuts for a bra, barefooted, and salt, because you can’t really get rid of salt. I know it’s not really logical, but I feel the most free, adventurous, wild, relaxed, and eternal at beaches. The good news is that there are many beaches around me. The bad news is I don’t visit them as often. And the good news again is that that piece of bad news can easily be fixed. Take one of my summer vacations this past August for example:
Our hotel was right in front of the ocean and we had a waterfront patio where I would sit at night to stare at the stars, listen to music, drink beer, and finalize on plans to visit San Francisco for my birthday.
It was a rather chilly morning, and my eyes were burning from lack of sleep. I had stayed up the previous night to watch re-runs of The Office and only fallen asleep an hour and half before I had to wake up. It would have been okay, considering the view from my room, to just sit out at my patio to grab a couple of photos and then go back to bed, but the sunrise was so spectacular, I rushed back in, put on some clothes and walked down to the beach instead.
I strolled along the shore for 3 hours unable to put my camera down. The sunrise was absolutely beautiful! It was especially amazing because the only time I had seen the sun rise over the ocean like that was in postcards and in movies. The view, the feeling, the breeze were all well worth the early rise!
And as for the version of myself that already felt free and happy by the beach, she was at peace.