Bonus: Beach Meditation at end of post. xoxo

YOLO. But seriously, we have two lives. The one we are born into and the one we begin living when we realize that this is our one life.

How’s your brain holding up? Your emotional health? Your stash of chocolates? Your relationships – especially the ones with your loved ones at home? If you have a moment of concern or lapse of presence at the mere thought of these questions in regard to areas of your life and you are currently in full dream follow mode, you may be on the brink or riding close to temporary insanity. I say this in a jovial tone but also with extreme caution. Caution because sleeping is pertinent for success. Sure, Arnold Schwarzenegger has convinced many young people that when you do decide to sleep, be cautious because someone else is working hard while you are sleeping. Current music lyrics like “I got six jobs! I don’t git tired!” are other ways we convince ourselves that it’s okay not to sleep. It’s okay to just go, go, go and be busy, busy, busy. It’s all in the sake of a goal, so it must be good, right?

Well, in all we do, the ultimate goal is balance. It isn’t simply to have all highs and no lows, it’s more to ride in the valley so we don’t lunge off the crest. I liken many things to surfing, which surprises some, and even me, because I have actually never been surfing. I say ‘actually’ in front of ‘never’ because I feel like I’ve surfed. I feel it in my body. When I’m at the beach, I have this cosmic chemistry shift in my cells. The cellular language takes a different tone, and my body becomes a receptor for what the ocean is offering.

They say that we are water beings and find the natural connection to the ocean. “I am not the drop in the ocean but I am the ocean in the drop.” We feel small when we stand beside the ocean. We feel rooted, unless you are extremely afraid of the ocean or dislike sand, etc…if this is you, I am not sure how to make this connection for you, I digress. Sometimes going with the wave of your dreams may mean that you are heading toward dangerous rocks or that you must cross an intense swell before catching the ride you waited all day, all year, all life for.

Right now, I feel like I am paddling. I am in the sweet spot, but I’m a kook. I stop paddling every once in a while and pop up for a headstand or jump off the board and dunk my entire self in the ocean. Then, I jump back on. Me, my board, the ocean and an infinite will. We are quite the team.

I’m not picky when it comes to water, lakes work too.

Juggling life as we know it, dreams, successful relationships and being the resourceful, intellectual humans that we like to think we are is a tall order. And the tallest part of the order is that we often are our toughest critics. We overlook all the successes and focus on a failure, a hitch in our giddy up. We can look at these hitches and wrenches in our plans as sure signs of failure or just as the speedbumps that they are and acknowledge that we do need to slow down and enjoy the ride because that’s what we are here for. Or in my case, the wave.

Fort Morgan, Alabama