One of my favorite parts of living in NYC is that, although the city itself can seem like an overcrowded concrete jungle (and I say “can seem” because it’s not so much, you just have have to know where to look since there are serene green spaces scattered everywhere across the city) you are never too far from different types of nature. Beaches, mountains, skiing, whale watching, forests, boating, fishing, kayaking, etc. All either within the city limits or within a few hours driving distance.
On this perfectly breezy, sunny, clear Sunday afternoon in July, my family and I found ourselves at the beach. My preferred beaches are on the Jersey Shore. The water is always clear, the beaches are always clean, and the vibes are always up. Our usual routine is dropping our puppy off at a daycare near the beach (since dogs are not allowed on the beaches during the summer months) and then spending hours soaking up the sun, feeling the sand between our toes, and smelling the fresh ocean air until it’s time to pick her up. So we did exactly that (refer to the photo below for a “point of view” experience).
However, a few hours into our frolicking, the tide began to change. Not thinking much of it we continued to eat freshly cut water melon and and build sand moats around our sand castle. And then, with one quick but powerful wave, we got flooded. We quickly moved out things, laughed about it, and continued on. Not even five minutes later with an even quicker and an even more powerful wave, we got completely and utterly covered in water. Everything was now soaked and, although we were able to save majority of our things, my son’s socks are now floating somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. That’s when I realized, the ocean was communicating. It was telling us we should leave. And I had the very strong very undeniable urge to listen. We quickly wrung out and packed our things and loaded into the car. That’s when I checked the time. It was almost 7pm. The puppy daycare would be closing soon. I temporarily lost track of time on the beach but the ocean wouldn’t let me. We made it to pick our pup up just in time.
On the drive home, I couldn’t shake the feeling of gratitude I felt to the ocean for the communication and the feeling of satisfaction I felt for listening to the ocean, and in turn, to my intuition. I realized nature, our bodies, the world, is constantly in communication with us. We just have to be in tune enough to listen.
Let The Magic Begin ✨ 