Day #427 – Moving forward, with joy

Saturday, I went to the Jersey Shore. For real. I cannot remember the last time I deliberately went to the beach in New Jersey – it had to have been over 25 years ago. I am not a fan of the Atlantic Ocean; I’ve been rolled by the rip tides enough times to scare me from going in the water for the rest of my life. Give me the placid Aegean, or the bath-like Gulf of Mexico. Keep me the hell away from any ocean. If I can’t see to the bottom, if my toes disappear in the murky waves, then this body of water is not for me. 

I spent the day with a woman whom I had once hired for a very brief stint as a fundraiser when I worked in the most toxic environment of my entire working life. Both our tenures there were short as a result (hers barely made 90 days), and we remained friends over the course of the next three and a half years. We had never met in person. She is planning to pack up and move back to Burlington, Vermont in a few weeks, and we both just became fully vaccinated, so the window to see one another was small. 

And what a day! Beautiful sunshine, light breezes, moderate temperatures – and a view that was simply stunning. Live music on the boardwalk, a leisurely lunch, some adult beverages and a walk on the beach that culminated with dipping toes into a clear (!!!) and cold ocean. There were families with little people and lots of dogs playing in the water and so much joy! I mean, how could there not be joy when the sun is shining, music is playing and the doggies are chasing each other? It was glorious – the kind of day that invites you to step out of your day-to-day reality and just breathe in the salty air – and the gull squawking is almost welcome.

And then, in less than an hour, I was back in the verdant, bucolic countryside where the birds are plentiful and most definitely not gulls. 

I had forgotten that my home state could give such vastly different experiences within a short drive. Another hour to the northwest, and you can be at the top of a mountain with a three-state vista. The month of May, when the days are just warm enough and the flowers are blooming everywhere, is the perfect time to enjoy the beach, the fields and the mountains. After more than a year of avoiding people in general and places that attract lots of people, it was almost a transformative experience. 

What was the lesson, then? Sometimes, stepping out of the norm of our day-to-day and walking barefoot on the sand for a few hours is vital and necessary. Give your brain something different. Take a break – and move forward, toward joy, in whatever form it takes.