February 22nd: Surfers and dolphins

Today Lynne and I slept in.  Our trip to see Esme had taken it’s toll and we were tired.  But the gift of Southern California sun shine, 68 degrees, a cloudless blue sky and a beach begging to be walked on got us out of bed and off to Zuma.

It was a long walk on the beach.  We saw surfers and dolphins but not many others. We sort of owned the place and were reminded of one of our favorite things about living here.

We visited dear friends we’d have never known had we not made this our home for 7 of the last 12 years.  We talked about things we learned here, laughed about memories we made here, and said thanks for the warm embraces we receive when we return here.  There wasn’t a second of this day that wasn’t happy.  Not all the same kind of happy, but all happy none the less. Even the sharing of sad news had a happy component because it was shared with people we love and who love us, and that’s a happiness that’s hard to beat.

I’m not a surfer, but I love to watch surfers when the weather and the waves are perfect.  What I think I am moved by is the ability a good surfer has to respond to waves propelling them on their journey.  Flowing with the water and accepting where it takes you; making the most of what is given.  And then paddling back out into the ocean to see what is offered next.  I like that metaphor and hope to incorporate more of that surfing spirit into my life.

I also love watching the dolphins, out with the surfers.  I obviously have no idea what they are thinking.  But they move through the waves with what looks to me like pure joy.   They may be miserable and I just don’t know it, but the way they carry themselves in their world looks joyful to me.  Like dancers matched with their favorite melodies and their most joyful moves.  I’m working on being more like that.

Now, how can I drive home in the ocean that is I-15 like the surfers and the dolphins in that Prius with the lousy tire jack?