On the Beach

Summer vacation…

I am on vacation. In retirement, vacation is redundant, but maybe the combination of vacation and retirement gives a double dose of whatever we seek in our rest.

I sat on the beach yesterday watching the waves after tossing my bait into the surf. I watched the rod, sitting in my beach chair on a cool June evening in a sweatshirt and jeans, socks and sneakers and a hat, with a cup of coffee in the sand beside the chair. Only one or two people could be seen in the distant foggy stillness.

I became aware of my contentedness, the soft and quiet joy of peace and tranquility in this crazy world; stillness in the midst of movement.

It is one thing to be content. It is another to be aware of that contentment and consider it for a moment.

Should I be grateful? I am content and I am aware of my good fortune to be alive at this moment. If I am grateful, who do I have to thank? If there is a God in this vast universe, I don’t believe that this God pays attention to my little life. If this God does pay attention to my life, then it is not the God most people imagine. I am aware of my good fortune, my luck, and aware that I am grateful.

What if I was focused on a past calamity, some disability, some pain or cruel loss? What if I were sitting here fearing some future event? I could be sitting on this same beach, in the same chair watching the same waves, my bait drifting across the ocean floor attracting no fish, thinking about my misfortune. What then? Would I not still be fortunate? Would I be searching for someone to blame for my unfortunate condition? Would I not be grateful for the moment?

In the midst of calamity, it is still good to look up and see that ray of light breaking through the clouds, the rainbow, the moment of calm before or within the storm.

The Buddha would tell me that I only have this moment, that I will live and I will die. Past and future have no meaning. Be in the moment.

Like I said, I am on vacation and thinking about it. What a wonder! I hope that you can find some peace and contentment within your life wherever you are. See you when I get back.