Being on a beach or by the ocean always causes me to reflect a little and always does good things to me. Without fail, I am always a very happy little camper by the time I leave regardless of the mood I was in before I went. I guess that’s why I refer to these days and moments as “beach therapy”.
I’ve been a little stressed out lately and have been grappling with some thoughts and decisions which are mostly centered around finances, my choice of career and my (our) future.
On this particular day (last Friday) we were meeting up with our friend Travis who was paddle boarding with other friends on Kailua Bay. Lynn and I climbed up and took a seat on the seawall and I snapped a picture with my iPhone and posted it to Facebook. Some of the “Likes”, or rather people that did the “Liking”, got me to thinking about some stuff.
Before we moved to the islands I was a Director in a large successful advertising agency. Mine and Lynn’s combined salaries provided a more than comfortable lifestyle… I won’t say exactly how much but let’s just say if it were today Obama would want to tax us more. We owned and lived in a luxury high-rise condo in the heart of a city. We also owned and managed other properties that we rented. We drove nice cars, ate out almost every night, and basically bought whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. And when we wanted to get away we could pretty much go whenever, we generally got suites and we traveled in style.
My point? Well, I guess that now things are a lot different. We own ONE house now which we are thankful for, but it is not easy to pay for. Our once fabulous European cars are now aging European cars with expensive problems. We watch our pennies and we worry a lot more about money, increasing debt, and making ends meet.
“Likes” of this photo of Kailua Bay on my FB page by people still living where I used to live and doing what I used to do got me thinking about all of this. It is cold and snowy there. It is warm and beautiful here. I sat on that seawall and gazed over that fantastically blue water, feeling the breezes and seeing the sun glitter on the surface… Just enjoying the moment, and thinking, reflecting.
Most people would not do things as we did. Probably because they are way smarter than we are. But I think it’s also that they are just scared to do it. I started to think maybe I should be scared more often. But it’s not like I don’t get scared. I just ignore it and do things anyway. It’s kind of how I am wired.
We wanted to be here in Hawaii because Hawaii was already here inside us. We wanted to be here while we were young and could enjoy it. And it was worth some sacrifices to make it happen.
I’m still grappling with the same thoughts and decisions as before but I am more focused now. Beach therapy brings peace and clarity. It helps me think. And I think I am on the way to solving a few things. Aloha.
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