#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream

“Imagination is absolutely critical to the quality of our lives. Our imagination enables us to leave our routine everyday existence by fantasizing about travel, food, sex, falling in love, or having the last word—all the things that make life interesting. Imagination gives us the opportunity to envision new possibilities—it is an essential launchpad for making our hopes come true. It fires our creativity, relieves our boredom, alleviates our pain, enhances our pleasure, and enriches our most intimate relationships.”
― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Beach Stone With Moon

We are six in the household, all early risers. I’m up at 5:00 a.m. and make the coffee. Continue the ritual of departing by 6:00 to the beach for the long walk. Today, I walk to the tide pools that form little pools for swimming and relaxing at low tide and I bathe and relax and enjoy myself while the surfers have their morning fun and the waves roll beyond me. Soon I continue my walk, and meet my friend walking toward me––surprise! We go out to breakfast with Frank at a little cafe. Strange to be in this intense heat and light while those at home prepare for terrible terrible cold. Tonight I am worried about my household at home that is without power. I hope they fix it soon, as they promise. Poor Charlie. Very unhappy, I’m told.

In the hot afternoon I went in my room and recorded a storytelling session for the special one. I performed “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” on Zoom, recorded it, uploaded it to Youtube, shared the link and heard that it was watched repeatedly and much enjoyed by my private audience of one special listener. Which made me very very glad.

I walked a lot today, in my pattern of returning to the beach for sunset. We are having a sunset dinner at a restaurant on the beach and I get a swim before dinner and another walk with one of my friends. We are deep in a fascinating conversation about daughters and about the new generation of women, post “Me Too” and what we are learning from them. We talk about shifting paradigms of eldering. We talk about a dream she had two days ago that foreshadowed our conversation on this walk. Then, dinner with friends, the call about the loss of power. I feel a bit helpless. Won’t fall asleep until I know it’s on. What beauty I saw on the beaches today. And tonight, the moon and sun on the beach at the same time, one rising, one setting. Full moon rising. And the stone I found this morning has a full moon too.