Tag: beaches

Tula Friday

Hello!! Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!! I am extremely excited because we have a new mattress arriving today. (these are the things that get you really revved up, when you are in your 50s) It’s long overdue, so I am anticipating a particularly wonderful, restful night’s sleep tonight. (Fingers crossed) In other news, I saw two coyotes last night when I went outside to turn off a Halloween decoration, before we went to bed. They were bigger than other coyotes I have seen in the past and they were walking across my neighbor’s yard, who lives across the street (these particular neighbors don’t have any pets, thank goodness). Supposedly, the Navajos believed that seeing a coyote was an omen of good fortune. Works for me!

Today’s favorite on my favorite day of the week, is Tula Blue jewelry. I recently purchased a Tula Blue bracelet at a local store and I liked it so much, I ordered more from their website. https://tulabluerope.com/ The creator of Tula Blue is an active young woman who has always lived in beachy areas. She created this line of jewelry to be versatile, timeless, complimentary with other jewelry styles, and to never have to be taken off when taking showers or when swimming in pools or in the ocean. Tula Blue jewelry is comprised of semi-precious stones knotted on tough, tan-colored mariner’s line. There are so many styles and lengths to choose from, it’s hard to pick just one. If you have the time and you want some inspiration, read the “About” section to see just how far this wonderful jewelry company has come from its very beginnings. Tula Blue also still has an Etsy store if you prefer to buy the jewelry from there. (Interestingly, “Tula” means balance. We are in the middle of two eclipses, so this is a wonderful, clearing time to figure out what is out of balance in your own life. What do you need more of in your life? What do needs to be let go of, in order to create more space for what you need more of, in your life? I, myself, do not need more jewelry, so I guess that I will have let go of some of my older jewelry, so that I can make space for some more jewelry. 😉 And at this moment, I need more coffee, in order to feel more balanced and alive, so good-bye! Enjoy your day! See you tomorrow.)

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Travelling in Your RV

Never forget how unique and wonderful you are in this world. There is only one of you. That makes you priceless and precious. Treat yourself as such.

It was interesting to me, last weekend, when we were driving through a part of Florida that had recently been decimated by a hurricane. Instead of rebuilding homes on their land, it appeared that a few people had purchased large, expensive RVs that they parked under metal RV “carports” on the land that used to be a beach homestead. Many of these fancy RV “carports” actually had screened in porches built into them. It was a fascinating solution.

My husband and I are embarking on that stage in life, where a lot more opportunities are opening up to us, as to where to live and how to live. It’s exciting and daunting, all at the same time. Still, as I ponder these decisions, I have to remind myself that “wherever you go, there you are.” We are all like our own little RVs, carrying around our own awareness and perceptions, our egos and personalities, our thought tickers (kind of like a stock tickers), our hearts, and our baggage.

One beach that we recently drove through is home to gorgeous, multi-million dollar homes where a lot of the Nashville country stars, and Hollywood stars with southern ties, are known to have beach houses. People like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Trisha Yearwood are all said to have residences there. None of these stars’ lives mentioned, have been “a cakewalk.” Clearly, no matter where you live outside of your own body/”RV”, that outside spot doesn’t protect you from the hurricanes of relationship, mental health, and addiction issues. Wherever you park your own little personal RV, that’s where you are. No matter how fancy the outside of your parking spot is, what truly matters is what is going on inside of your own unique RV.

How is maintenance going on your own personal RV? Are you fueling it up healthfully? Are you shading it from the hot summer sun? What about that thought ticker that is constantly scrolling? Is that thought ticker stuck on repeat? What are the quality of thoughts that are constantly being played and replayed on it? How’s the windshield on your own little RV body? Do you keep it clean, so that your perception is clear and wide open? Is your RV carrying too much baggage? Are there things/habits/relationships that need to be kicked to the curb and let go, so that you can ride to your destinations, freer and lighter? How about that heart engine of your own beautiful little RV? That’s what needs to be protected the most, because, otherwise your RV isn’t going anywhere.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Hospitality and Honeymoons

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

We lived nine years in Charlotte, NC before moving to Florida. Where we ended up landing this weekend, was a quintessential southern-flavored town, right on the white sanded, Florida beach. It felt as if Charlotte had landed up on the beach. It was lovely to experience again the southern charms of excellent biscuits, babies with monograms and big bows, and drinks filled with mint leaves. No one could ever deny the unsurpassed-ness of southern hospitality.

My husband and I did a lot of biking and swimming and playful flirting. This is the first trip that we have taken in a while, where we could just focus on the two of us. We noticed a sweet young couple cuddled together, taking a luxurious nap on one lounge by the pool. Almost 28 years ago we were that sweet young couple, swaying on a hammock, all snuggled together, on a beach on our honeymoon, dreaming about what was to come ahead in this life that we would share. Wow. It would take volumes of books, full of depth and nuances, to explain the intricacies and the lessons and the adventures and the joys (and also the challenges) of raising a family of four children, to that young couple huddled in a hammock. I think if I saw honeymoon me now, I would just say, “Darling, it’s going to be amazing. Sometimes incredibly challenging, but always amazing. Treasure it. Experience every moment, knowing that you have just made the best decision of your life.”

Shelling

We were shelling on the beach over the weekend. The shells that had landed on the beach were unbelievably beautiful and varied. It had been a long, long time since there had been such an unbelievable array of colorful and unusual shells for the taking. It turns out that times around the full moon are supposed to be the best times to find truly unique shells on any particular beach. We found large conch shells, and clam shells that were so brightly yellow and orange, you would have assumed they had been painted. There were piles of pearly snail shells which were so neatly arranged that my daughter wondered if someone had collected them and put them there, but it turns out, these piles were all over the beach, like leopard spots. I got excited and inspired enough by the experience, to order a book about the different varieties of shells on Amazon. It felt like a brand new, interesting experience, even though I have been shelling on beaches since I was a little girl. I got excited and reacquainted with the treasure hunt feel of it all, all over again.

Friends, this year has been an incredibly difficult and somewhat disillusioning year. A lot of things that make us energized and excited have gone dormant under layers of worry and concern and fatigue. But those things which arouse and delight us, are still there, underneath it all. Like finding a long lost piece of jewelry or another treasured thing, long considered gone forever, the experiences which make us feel moved and aflame, will happen again. We will surprise ourselves with the remembered feelings of delight and aliveness which these dormant experiences will bring us, when life starts to feel lighter again.

The beautiful shells that appeared on the beach, were always there. Some of them are hundreds, maybe even thousands of years old. It’s just that they got covered up by heavy sand and high tides from storms and winds and tossing seas. But on a calm, cloudless day, the sun shown its light on the glistening shells, and the moon smiled her blessing on the banquet of abundant gifts which she had bequeathed to the beach combers. And as the beach combers picked up their perfectly lovely gifts, to examine them closer and to hold them gently in their hands, near to their peaceful hearts, the shellers remembered how perfectly, naturally loved they were, and how perfectly and naturally loved, they have always, always been.