16 June 2006

Spoiled for Summer


I was a very lucky kid...I grew up living on a lake. Pretty much every waking moment of summer was spent swimming or boating with friends. I grew up never having a fear of the water, and yet profound respect for it. I understood the power of it, that it isn't our element...and yet it was my friend. I still am drawn to the water; the rhythmic tempo of the waves, the breeze upon my face, and the yearn to be one with it. I could spend hours simply sitting on the shoreline, being invited to share the beauty.

Now, as the sounds of kids laughing & playing outside drift on the winds as only summer vacation can bring, I am all too aware of the sheer joy of summer that becomes lost as an adult. Our days are still rife with responsibilities, worries, and work. If only we were able to appreciate & embrace summer the way we did as children, perhaps, just perhaps, people would be more peaceful? Imagine conflicts being settled with simple games of Red Rover or Hopscotch...ah, to be a kid again. Meet you at the beach in an hour??

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree! I didn't live on the
lake year round, but I did
every summer. I miss that my
kids don't have the same
opportunity that I did. The
$299 walmart pool just doesn't
seem to have the same peace and
serenity that the lake and the summer wind did.

angela said...

I'll be there if you don't laugh at me in a swimsuit;-)

You know, there is a buddhist quote that ways something like

If I can't enjoy doing the dishes from dinner because I am thinking about how I want to eat my dessert, I won't enjoy the dessert when I get there, either...

I don't know...dishes? But I think what he was saying was that we need to enjoy the moment, give ourselves permission to have those moments of relaxation...we don't have to be on the go all the time...

I was thinking about this very thing this morning...I may do a blog on it...about how I don't have to deny myself all the fun things just because I haven't finished every scrap of work that there ever was...In fact I won't ever finish it all...and what is 15 minutes out in the backyard, enjoying the sunset or whatever, as far as cutting into my "to do" list...

Thanks for posting this...it just confirms what I was thinking...:-)