This experience came at me out of no where.  Despite my 10 year high school reunion this year, I haven’t paid a particular amount of attention to my age (well, more than normal anyway).  So, this boat thing surprised  me and really, really helped me clear my head on the whole damn age thing.

Weird Coincidences
After a long run (well, long for me anyway, I’m a total newbie to running) along the shore front of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, I did my normal cool down walk.  It was a beautiful breezy summer day, and sweaty or not, something was calling me to go sit down on a public bench on the beach instead of returning immediately to my car to go home and shower.  The sky and water were both insanely blue, and I decided to listen to the urge to sit, rather than ignore it (the easier option).

The only reason I actually listened to this voice came from my recent commitment to my meditation practice. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit as a yoga teacher for the past four years, my daily home meditation practice was sorely lacking.  I began to get serious about it this summer, and settled in to a nice space after a month or so.

Stay with me here – once I made a commitment to get my butt down on the ground for 10 – 20 minutes (mind you, I had to work up to that amount of time, I started off with a few minutes each day), I started to see the benefits immediately, and I was addicted.

I am  pushed to consider the world around and inside me, to recognize love in myself and admire love in everyone around me. It’s freaking amazing.  It puts me in check when I have a moment where something might jump out at me to knock me down. I take a moment to calm down or just breathe in gratitude. Much better than seeing red when someone cuts me off in traffic!

It also guides me to focus and recognize when the universe tries to send me signs, messages, or just a little love. Normally people only acknowledge messages after something tragic happens, like a death, to see little signs of love around them. Small, yet significant – a particularly beautiful sunset, a certain song on the radio or a dog coming to say hello with the same name.

The Event that Changed My Outlook About Age on the Beach
About five minutes after I sat down on that bench I was called to put my booty in, I saw off in the distance a little parade of sail boats coming down the waterway.  They were about 1000 feet offshore, and a beautiful site to see.  They were coming in at a fast clip, so I decided to walk down to the water’s edge and take a few pictures.  Continue reading