And back again

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The lure of Santa Cruz is strong. There's an atmosphere to it that restores and calms me. The endless beaches, the silent redwoods, the epic views of water and sun. And even as I've come to know more people there who move at or beyond my warp-speed pace, I still feel a strong sense of tranquility and peace.

Staying at my friend Claudia's house this past weekend, it was 2 blocks from the beach. Walk 20 yards out her front door and you could see Live Oak/Harbor beach straight ahead. Cold, dewy mornings began with coffee at the Kind Grind, turning into warm, sunny afternoons and then evenings watching hyper-vivid sunsets over the lighthouse. Up early to get a 2-hour "recovery" run along the beach Sunday, I saw a whale. It surfaced and spouted and moved slowly along the horizon reappearing every minute or so. Salty, sweaty, warm from the sun; it was a super subdued feeling of bliss. And happiness. In that moment, life was so perfect and simple.

So much so that leaving it a day later to return to work put me in a deeper and deeper funk. What am I doing with my life? What am I doing at my job? What am I doing in the middle of San Francisco? And to know me is to know that I actually like all those things but agh, re-entry was hard today. Sun, beach, computer, cube. I suspect it means there are underlying "things" in my life that I might want to try and explore, which is why I like to go to Santa Cruz, to see if I can gain a little clarity, a little introspection, a little distance from the go-go-go that is my usual life. Or maybe I was just tripping on having to go back inside after such a great weekend.


This song by Armin Van Buuren came on while I was driving home from work tonight and it stuck with me as I sat to write this tonight. I love these lyrics. For anyone reading this, welcome to my momentary personal journey of introspection and deep thoughts. I suspect I'll be back to my usual tomorrow. Fear not.

Hold On to Me
Hold on to this
To dream is a gift
To love is divine
To dream is to be
To live is to shine

Note: I didn't even mention the part about Sunday hooping out by the lighthouse on West Cliff. Claudia is a phenomenal hooper who graciously gifted me with my first ever hula hoop. I'm challenged to do more than roll it around my hips but I love it, and hooping outdoors with music and the sound of the ocean and watching really good hoopers go at it is ridiculously fun and chill and utterly Santa Cruz. The Mercury came and did a story on the scene.

Comments

saulj said…
I don't get to SC that much, which is unfortunate considering I have a place to stay there. But I have been asking the same questions as I travel on my days off. The reflection time has been really helpful and transformative, if that is even word. As I write this, I am listening to Sting's Brand New Day, by coincidence...
11:53 AM
Rick Gaston said…
Love Santa Cruz, one of the things I miss having given up triathlon is Big Kahuna. There's always Skyline to the Sea 50k I guess. Hey really nice pictures, really nice stuff. Funny I just discovered Armin Van Buuren.
7:20 PM
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