Fun: A Spiritual Practice
57 degrees with a stiff westerly wind, no swim suit, and a mile of dark forest trail between me and my car, but no matter, the mighty Pacific calls my name anyhow. I shred my shirt and shoes, dash for frothy waves, but grow cautious as the water’s chill gathers up my spine. Then, in one strong motion I lean, head first, into the gut of a crashing swell. In a moment, I feel no cold, only the exhilaration of bobbing to and fro at the whim of the great ocean.
Soon my skin grows numb. A body-wide tingle envelopes my flailing, boyish moment. And I shout to myself, “This is what it feels like to be really alive!”
Something in you might scoff at my foolishness, but I bet at least a part of you cheers in solidarity. We humans have a great deal of happiness kept up in our bones--just waiting for the preoccupations of an agitated sea to bring it out of us.
Standing, cold, but so free in the Pacific, I turned around to see my two young boys looking at me, their mouths agape, their cheeks full of…
Soon my skin grows numb. A body-wide tingle envelopes my flailing, boyish moment. And I shout to myself, “This is what it feels like to be really alive!”
Something in you might scoff at my foolishness, but I bet at least a part of you cheers in solidarity. We humans have a great deal of happiness kept up in our bones--just waiting for the preoccupations of an agitated sea to bring it out of us.
Standing, cold, but so free in the Pacific, I turned around to see my two young boys looking at me, their mouths agape, their cheeks full of…
