Tears Not Spent

Sadness and pain come in waves but I run back up the beach away from them. I know if I let the waves catch me, they will overwhelm me and I will be wet with tears.


I run back up the beach to the sunny spot you occupy. It is your magic blanket that holds nothing but happiness and calm. When I have to step away from it, I hold my breath, waiting for the waves to threaten, walking in the shadows of the day.


If I can sit with you on your blanket, the waves will stay away, the sun will always shine and the tears will not come. But, funnily enough, I will still hold my breath.

Mon Ciel

Il n’y a pas de ciel, mais vous la lumière de mon bonheur.
Vous n’avez pas besoin de porter ce fardeau et je le cacher.
Je reconnais mon addiction au soleil et à la chanson de la séduction.
C’est l’amour, à croissance lente plus, mon petit coin de paradis.

When the Gods Smile

When a day starts off beautifully and ends badly it always seems the world is conspiring against you. If things get off to a bad start but end fantastically, almost unrealistically perfect, has the world decided to be nice? I don’t believe so.

A day, or just a moment, is what you make of it. Call it karma, good vibes, God, Vishnu or whatever; it doesn’t matter. How the world is and how your day turns out, is part reality, part perception and part reception. How you perceive and receive reality is how your day will go.

The key is to stay positive even when something less than perfect happens. If you hit a bump in your day, smile. The gods just might smile back at you.

Don't Fight the Riptide

Living just half an hour from the ocean as a child, I spent weeks and weeks of summers at the beach. Moving into the middle of the continent as an adult was not easy but I’ve learned to love my new hometown. Still, I miss the beach, the taste of the salt on the air, the sound of the crashing waves and the endless horizon. Respect for the fierce power of the ocean was one ingrained in me very early, most especially its riptides.

Riptides, or rip currents, are currents that flow straight out from shore toward open ocean. They can move swiftly and alarm a swimmer unfamiliar with them. The currents themselves don’t drown swimmers, but swimmers sometimes drown when caught in riptides because they exhaust themselves trying to swim against them.

Experienced beach goers and ocean swimmers know to swim out with the riptide until you can get to the edge of it to get out of it. After swimming parallel with the shore to get away from the riptide, simply swim back toward shore. I know this works because I’ve done it.

Some days make you feel like you’re swimming against a riptide. It’s exhausting, demoralizing and frustrating. But, you can take the same survival strategies of ocean riptides and apply them to your day. Just let the current push you from shore, your goals and your desires. Literally go with the flow, swimming out towards open ocean.

It can be scary, but remind yourself you’re still in control by swimming with the current instead of against it. As the current slows down or you get to the edge of it, change direction so you’re at least tracking parallel to your objective. When you no longer feel the current pulling you farther out, turn straight at what you want and go for it. I know this works because I’ve done it.