If we were having coffee: Late summer adventures edition

Tasting the sweetness.

Was there ever a time when you felt suddenly alive?  It was like the doors of the world opened for a minute and you could see directly into life.  You were able to touch life directly and were not lost in your fears and worries.  This experience may not have been during a big event like performing in a play or playing in a championship game; it may have been while walking in the woods or talking to a friend.  All of a sudden you felt alive, awake.  This quality of waking up, or penetrating into life, we could call mindfulness.  Mindfulness simply means being aware, being present.  When you are breathing and know that you are breathing, that is mindfulness of breathing.

~ Soren Gordhamer

Enjoying the light.

If we were having coffee, tea, or some other delicious beverage, I would be delighted to see you again.  Come on inside where it’s nice and cool thanks to the miracle of air conditioning.  Some might say it’s not such a miracle and that our indoor climate control is one of the reasons we gain weight and find it so difficult to acclimate, but pshaw! on that.  Okay, maybe I shouldn’t pshaw! on that, but as someone who honestly gets ill from the heat, I do have a great appreciation for air conditioning.  Electricity is expensive in many ways and on many levels so I don’t keep it as cool as I’d like, but even with it set at 80°F it is cooler than outside (and is a relief after being out there!).

Levitating.

Gosh, I’m rambling already and you’re barely in the door!  Let’s go through to the kitchen and grab our drinks.  I’ll probably have iced tea of some kind, maybe a chamomile-lavender tea.  There are snacks, too.  The usual hummus with pita or veggies, and some cut up watermelon if you’d rather have something sweet.  I’m not a baker so sweets around here are usually of the fruit variety unless M and I decide to treat ourselves to a local favorite, Smith Island cake.  I’ll see if I can have some of that for us next week.  Let’s go sit in the living room where we can watch the hummingbirds at the feeder.  It’s too hot for the porch or the kitchen, where heat tends to build up.

Leaning in to listen.

How are you?  What have you been up to lately?  Something good?  Something wicked?  Something simply delightful?  Have you traveled anywhere or seen any new sights?  Have you had any wonderful conversations lately?  Learned something new or remembered something old?  Have you gone on any good walks or hikes?  Read any good books or seen any good movies?

Garlic chives

If we were having coffee, tea, or some other beverage, I would tell you that since our last chat I started and finished reading Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding (the third book in the Bridget Jones series).  I was a little bored with it in the beginning, but it picked up and I found it both laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining at times.  I have seen adverts for the new Bridget Jones movie which is coming out soon, and it sounds like they veered off quite a bit from the book.  According to Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge (heh), the film is based on Fielding’s columns and not on the third book.  Good to know because it sounds nothing at all like the third book.

I have also continued to slowly, at less than turtle speed, read John O’Donohue’s Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom which I love.  I am reading one small section at a time, savoring it and letting it sink in before moving on to the next.  At the rate I’m going, it might take me the rest of the year to finish it.  Or maybe one day I’ll sit down and gobble up whatever is left.

Partaking.

Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.

~ John O’Donohue, Anam Cara

A Wednesday adventure.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’ve been on a small adventure this week.  I went to Assateague Island National Seashore where I enjoyed some kayaking, walking on the beach, and swimming.  It is the first time I’ve been kayaking since I took a lesson back in June (which, I see, I never did post about other than to say I would be taking a lesson).  The lesson was great and I learned a lot, most of which I have since forgotten because I didn’t get out and practice what I learned.

Making waves.

It was a beautiful day for kayaking and for being at the beach.  My kayaking partner and I explored a little of the marsh where the egrets, herons, and a host of other birds hang out.  It was wonderful to be able to get so close to them.  Not too close, mind you, because the birds wouldn’t allow it.  But they did seem to mind us less in a kayak than walking on shore.  It’s too bad I can’t take the good camera out with me on a kayak.  I am not nearly confident enough in my kayaking abilities, and even if I were, I wouldn’t take the chance since I can’t afford to replace the Canon.  (The photos from this kayak trip were taken with Lulu, my little everything-proof point & shoot.  For those inquiring minds that want to know, it’s a Panasonic Lumix.)

Moving right along.

We went late enough in the day that kayak rentals were still available and when we finished, the beach was clearing out (which also means finding a parking spot near the beach was relatively easy).  As you may or may not know, the National Park Service here in the U.S. turned 100 on August 25, and it was nice to visit Assateague (the national park section) to help celebrate the big birthday.  I was there a day early, but that’s okay.  It’s the thought that counts, right?

It is super tough to get a straight shot while in a kayak.  Everything ends up tilted most of the time.

Wilderness itself is the basis of all our civilization. I wonder if we have enough reverence for life to concede to wilderness the right to live on?

I hope that the United States of America is not so rich that she can afford to let these wildernesses pass by. Or so poor that she cannot afford to keep them.

~ Margaret (Mardy) Murie, Former Wilderness Society council member

By (and in or on) the bay.

If we were having coffee or something else to drink, it would be time for me to turn this over to you.  I’ve rambled on enough for one coffee chat.  Thank you so much for stopping by to visit and chat.  Feel free to stay longer if you’d like.  It’s a good day to go for a swim in the pool.  Sunset might be worth venturing out into the heat for, too.  It’s at 7:40 PM.  I think it would be best to go down to the Point to watch because that way we can duck into the car every now and then to cool off in the air conditioning.  Walking out to the dock has been uncomfortable lately, especially with the return of the deer flies (who really should be gone by now!).

One of the new foals on Assateague Island.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Watching the sunset at the Point on the way home from Assateague.

This post is in response to Part Time Monster’s #WeekendCoffeeShare.  Thank you to Diana for hosting it.  Also, a big congratulations for the #WeekendCoffeeShare being featured on WordPress’s Daily Post.  So glad to see it being shared among the rest of the community!  Put the kettle on, start the coffee maker, open a bottle of wine, or whatever your preference is, and join us.  I’d love to hear all about what you were up to this week.

One last look before we leave.