If I’m being honest, I feel like I’ve been beaten up.
Returning home to our cottage in Youngsville after two months, my 63 year old body feels worn down by a combination of too much sun and many traveling miles. Is it possible to relax too much, to send too many hours outside or to go too far away from the life we are used to? I guess so.
We left Montauk at 6:11 am yesterday, the exact moment that the sun rose in the east and our new camper was pointed west. In that moment, I felt very sated, happy to have experienced Hither Hills State Campground with Beth and our old friends, the Brinks, after a decade of being away from the beach camping experience.
The journey home always feels like a last big push, as if a catapult flings us from one place to another. We fly through space and then land with a resounding thud back where we began.
I am happy to be here, though. Beth and I are grateful to live in a place that in some respects is more like a vacation home than a real one. We are surrounded by beauty here as much as we were in any of the locations we visited this summer.
Last year, we joined a gym in September and I proceeded to pummel my body until I ended up in a chiropractor’s office. I will not make that mistake again this year.
The gift of that memory and feeling exhausted and broken today is that I know that I cannot “fix” my aging body with weights and supreme efforting. Instead, I need subtle, gentle practices like yoga, breath work and, perhaps, a return to the chiropractor’s skilled hands.
At 3:30 am, I walked outside and looked up at the stars and then I lay down and remembered the lyrics of James Taylor’s song, “The Secret O’ Life.” Maybe they’ll mean something to you in this moment, too.
The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain’t nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to
The top of the hill
But since we’re on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride
The secret of love is in opening up your heart
It’s okay to feel afraid
But don’t let that stand in your way
’cause anyone knows that love is the only road
And since we’re only here for a while
Might as well show some style
Give us a smile
Isn’t it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It’s just a lovely ride
Now the thing about time is that time
Isn’t really real
It’s just your point of view
How does it feel for you
Einstein said he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face
Welcome to the human race
Some kind of lovely ride
I’ll be sliding down
I’ll be gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It’s just a lovely ride
Isn’t it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It’s just a lovely ride
Now the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
