For those of you who follow me you may have noticed that I have been extremely quiet here on my blog over the month of May. Hubby and I had a terrific, fun-filled vacation in Portugal and Spain with fabulous friends, celebrating our collective fourtieth Anniversaries. We wined and dined and touristed for three weeks. To say it was a bucket list trip is no understatement and the memories made are indelibly etched on my heart.
Unfortunately, our vacation ended with some pretty nasty flu bug hitching itself onto our wagons and we all straggled home in varying degrees of illness. It has been two weeks since the unwelcome buggers showed up and I can finally keep my head in the moment without drifting off in a jet lag and Benadryl stupor. Soporific indeed!
It’s interesting, the things I think about when medicating and lying down are the only two actions I’ve been able to eek out of late. I exaggerate, as I am wont to do, and I’m feeling much better finally. Thankfully, I no longer sound like Bambi, a seventy eight year old retired sex worker on a three pack a day habit. Ahem, ahem, she’s says clearing her throat….
Part of our holiday was cruising the Mediterranean and I spent some time in quiet reflection while managing a few sleepless nights. Our cabin balcony at the aft end of the ship was the perfect spot to admire the setting sun as it quietly vanished into a watery horizon, seemingly settling down for the night yet knowing its’ day was starting all over again on the other side of the globe.
The sun never gets to disconnect itself from us. Her purpose is to provide life-sustaining heat, light and energy. Even when it’s fourty below, when the sky and the land are the exact shade of white and you lament at never being warm again, she is doing her job. She is a Yelllow Dwarf Star, which seems ridiculous to call her a dwarf considering her size which is a hundred and nine times larger than earth. This immense ball of gas continually explodes, ruptures and spews her elements throughout our universe, keeping us in line with her gravitational pull all the while, ironically, slowly dying her own inevitable death. Not to worry, we still have seven to eight billion years before that happens.
Our connection to the sun is as a Mother with a newborn. We thrive purely because we have her to sustain us. She is the life source between the heavens and this rock we call home and all living entities seek her out for pleasure and preservation.
Flora and fauna turn their heads to soak in her life giving light and solar energy. We worship her, we long for her, we are completely and wholly under her spell but, unlike the sun, whose work is never done, we have the ability to disconnect from our routine, the mundane, the ordinary and reconnect to the why and what and who we are in our deepest selves.
Disconnecting from the responsibilities of daily life is troublesome. In North America we have been raised in a culture that emphasizes our worth based on how busy we are, how many hours we put in, how much money we make, how nice our home is, what brands we use, how we look… We often carry the heft of world issues in our heads and on our hearts; politics, war, famine, racism, hate, mysoginy, violence, crime, climate change. These are heavy issues that are constantly playing across our news feeds or sadly, for many, in our own backyards. But for the grace of fill in the blank, many of us don’t truly know the suffering of our brothers and sisters but it doesn’t mean we are not affected in some way.
The fact that globally we spend trillions of dollars a year on vacations, getaways, holidays, is testament to our desire and need to leave our daily lives behind, to unplug and not worry about anything more taxing than what cocktail to order, should I get a second dessert and what SPF will give me the best protection but a tan at the same time? There’s that sun again!
Our voracious appetite for “getting away”and shutting out the cacophony of life is insatiable and it’s exactly what we need in order to reconnect with ourselves. When we walk into the forest and there is nothing but bird song, leaves fluttering, insects buzzing and the crunch of the forest floor beneath our steps, all the detritus that consumes us just falls away.
When we stroll along a deserted beach, bare feet squishing the wet sand between our toes with waves of cool water washing over them, it is cleansing and soothing, as though they are washing our burdens and angst out to sea. There is something primordally cathartic about laying on a beach, watching and hearing seabirds cry overhead. The rhythmic lapping of the water plays in harmony with the relaxed beat of our own hearts. Time almost stands still for a moment or two. No schedules, no deadlines, no anxiety, just a serenity that strips away the old barnacles and reveals the real us that has become hidden beneath those crusty layers.
Maybe the beach or forest is not your cuppa? Perhaps it’s sitting at a sidewalk cafe while indulging in the aromas and flavours of a delicious espresso and people watching. You may find boating along the Douro while sipping local wine, nibbling on cheeses and seeing Portugal from a different vantage point to be your vibe. Strolling through the markets of Valencia, touching, smelling and sampling the local fare, tasting the sunshine in a glass of freshly squeezed Valencia orange juice could be just the thing for you.
You could climb the hills of Lisbon in sandals whose soles are literally disintegrating with each step (true story), while simultaneously, your inner soul is soaking in the beauty of the city. It may be gazing in awe at the Sagrada Familia, gobsmacked by the brilliance and vision of the architect and artist Gaudi that hits you just right or the thrill of driving a Formula 1 Batman car around the island of Palma de Mallorca that takes you away from it all…to the Bat Mobile Robin!
We take breaks for our mental, emotional and physical health. We cannot be all go all the time, it just doesn’t work with our makeup. Humans need the basics of life, sleep, food and water to physically survive and it is our connection to the sun that provides that for us but, the needs of our heart, our spirit, goes beyond the basics.
We each learn to find our own way to shut off the noise, turn down the lights, turn on the soft jazz or listen to the planet as she hums in F Major. To disconnect with the setting of the sun is as important as drawing from her life source and I have no doubt, when we awaken upon her rising, we come out more konnected than ever before.
Love Kiki
Xo
“Find moments to connect with yourself and you will become more aware of what really matters.“ — Michelle
Sunset over the Mediterranean
(By Christine Hayden)
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Well put Kiki. Well put. XO