Favorite Memory of 2014

The writing challenge this week is to tell about your favorite memory from the past year.

Kure Beach, April 2014

2014 was a rough year, as six months of it went by cramming 16 hours of work into 8 hours a day.  But the other six months had some wonderful memories.  And my favorite, by far, was the solitude and bliss of going to the beach by myself.

Completely alone.  For the first time in my life.


It was wonderful.

Don't mistake me, I enjoyed going with friends and family as well, but for the first time EVER, I went alone.

Kure Beach, April 2014

The peace of not having to worry about a child in the surf (or satisfying her hunger, thirst, bathroom breaks, etc..).  Sitting there alone gave me the freedom to revel in my introversion.
I sat there, and wrote some reflections on the type of day it was.  Cool breeze, almost chilly.  Until the sun came out from behind the wisps of clouds.
I enjoyed the sound of nothing but the waves and a few seagulls bidding for attention.  I closed my eyes and thought of nothing.  Absolutely nothing.
I felt the sizzle of the sun on my skin.  I luxuriated in the glow of the mid-morning sunshine.
And I didn't care.  In that moment, I had no obligations or responsibilities.  It was me, my chair, and my beach bag.  That was it.  I was free.

I loved it so much, that I followed the trip up with another one - this time with a friend and children.  Just basking in the sun toes in the sand.

Do people change?

One of the things I'd like to do more of this year would be to post at least one blog per month.  In an effort to do this, I've created an entire board on pintrest to help me.  I'm going to answer some of the January questions on that board over the next few days.

One of the first questions I want to write about is "Do you think people change?"

When I was younger, I would have answered with a resounding "no."  But, I feel this is a more complicated question than it seems.  When originally asked that question it's normally in reference to "does a leopard change his/her spots" type of question.  But it's really not as shallow as it first seems.

One of my favorite quotes is by Alvin Toffler "Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life."

Change: by Alvin Toffler

This holds true on both a broader scale as well as a more personal one.  Change is everything.  Change is all.  It is ambivalent and apathetic - neither good nor bad.  It simply is.  Therefore, to truly live, we are constantly changing.

What mustn't change is our inner core of being.  We can be open to experience and change, but you must still have a sense of self.  You must remain true to your being.  No one knows this better than parents.  You have created this being that is so much like you, and so dissimilar.  And often, when you have very small children, you tend to lose yourself in them.

So, simply put - do people change:  yes.  All the time.  Even by trying not to change, the influences around them as well as the information that they are exposed to, are constantly changing.  And thus, their perceptions, ideas, and thoughts are also in a constant state of fluctuation.