Pleasant Time

I’m sitting on the sand at Dockweiler Beach and it is 10am. It was a spur of the moment thing. Instead of making a right onto LMU Drive, I continued straight and made my way here. It’s incredibly calm and serene and the weather is perfect! I am just sitting here listening to the waves crash and the seagulls cry out while I write this blog in my notebook – where seagulls usually irritates the crapiola out of me, today is different, it’s like listening to one of those ocean sound CD’s. There are birds resting on the ocean’s surface, enjoying the time to themselves, so care free. I even see a family of dolphins frolicking in the water about 50 – 60 meters from the shore line.
What a pleasant idea to think of living a care free life, just riding the waves of time and catching the wind as it blows. I love coming to the beach because it paints that type of atmosphere for me. The sounds of nature and the beauty of God’s creations place me into a fairytale, allowing me to escape life for the time being. I am in a sort of dream world, forgetting about the stresses of school and complex situations that life so graciously yields. I am able to think clearly and organize my thoughts with simplicity. Here, it is so easy for me to forgive, appreciate, and love because everything around me seems to draw the negative thoughts, feelings, and energy out of me and replaces that void space with joy, bliss, and peace.
Looking at the water, I perceive it to be so refreshing and it is very tempting to jump right in. Too bad I don’t have extra clothes in the car or else it would have been a done deal.
I lived in the San Fernando Valley for the majority of my life, minus the three years I lived out here for school. My mom loves going to the beach, frankly, she just loves to travel – guess that’s where I get my travel bug from. So every now and then – more than most valley residents actually – she would take my siblings and me to the beach, regardless of the long 405 drive. We went to Redondo and Manhattan Beach most of the time. My mom also ventured off into boondocks beaches like Zero Beach, which, to this day, I still do not know where exactly that beach is. Sad I know, especially when I have something called “Google” at my fingertips.
My mom calls us her fish kids for a reason. We were always in some body of water swimming and having a blast. The beach is such a wonderful place to be. I fell in love with it back then and I love it even more now. My hope is to share this love with my kids someday to give them a place to escape and enjoy as well. What a great way to start a beautiful day.

- Cairesse Grimes