It is out there, all around us, wherever we go. This time of year I see it in my friends’ eyes. I hear it over the phone, talking to relatives. And despite the antihistamines, melatonin and muscle relaxants I take daily, stress lives in me as well.
At my family’s annual reunion on Sanibel Island this weekend, I watched a young girl meandering along the beach. She walked with hands held out to the wind. Sometimes she skipped on her toes or kicked up the sand with her heels. Her feet took her in a direction that was the opposite of where she looked.
This is what I will need to do to get through the holidays. If I follow my head I might never get out of my pajamas or leave the house. So I’m buying candles for friends. And I’ve got a box of rainbow cookies to share. I will look at who I am and the patterns I’ve developed but then, for the holidays, I will allow myself to go in a different direction.
I can become the girl on the beach.
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Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day. It’s always exciting to read through articles from other writers and practice something from other websites.
Yes, you can, Robin, carrying along your bag of grief. It’s a hard time of year for those who miss someone they love, but somehow we’ll get through it. Each year it gets a tiny bit easier, not because we’ve forgotten, but because we’ve learned how to accept loss and life at the same time. Solstice blessings. Soak in that sun. There is none here.
This is wonderful. Can’t we all relate to watching a little kid running to nowhere, to everywhere, not looking where they’re going but moving full steam ahead into the unknown. A wonderful analogy. Go for it, girl.
Good for you, Robin. Not sure I can dance in those shoes, but it’s worth a try!
Lynne
Robin,
Your insight strikes a universal core. Suffering as well as joy are pronounced at hoiliday time. Still, what rings clear from your post is that hope and faith are not easily distinguished. BE THE GIRL ON THE BEACH!
You are wonderful proof that healing and growth does happen.
Great post Robin, it looks beautiful there! I love seeing little girls wandering on sandy beaches, they are truly in the moment. I am glad you can become that girl on the beach. “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day, is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”~Etty Hillesum xo
What a wonderful, painful, poignant piece. Hang in there.