My glutes and mind are longing for a walk on the beach

By psychologistmimi on May 27, 2014 • ( 4 Comments )

Many find comfort in the hot salty aired beach embedding their toes into the granular sand streams. Many love to get golden with the sunblock-filled sweat dripping slowly from the body. I, do not enjoy the beach. I seek an umbrella and cover myself up with a towel. The sun gives me a headache and the sweat rashes my skin up. Ok. Let me restate this. I do not care for sunbathing. Besides not enjoying the crisping of my skin, I do not enjoy just sitting still for hours on end. I once had a colleague who was a bit of a curmudgeon who totally got into the beach to just soak up the sun. I was completely weirded out by their beach obsession but figured it was a way of warming up their soul.

When on the beach, I love walking for miles watching the sunbathers, the birds, the giggling children, the built sandcastles and the joyous dogs. I love catching bits of happiness and soaking them in the way sunbathers take un the sun rays. Also, I get to really work out my glutes. By the time I get back to my hotel or beach spot I have taken the world in and expelled a few cocktail calories.

Across my many beach walks I have come across many an interesting scene, sea creatures and artifacts. I always have my social scientist hat on mapping community norms along the way. The signs detailing what is and isn’t allowed make for interesting observations. The snippets of conversation I process give me a sense of where the world’s mind is at that day. When you are supposedly carefree on a beach many a riddled conversations occur. I have also come across beautiful seashells, earrings, shoes and the like that point to what is and is not important in life. If you lose an item on the beach was it meant to be with you for long?

No matter what I come across, I never take it home with me. I take my memories and my photographs. I look back at my footsteps and think about where I will be next. I may not go back home golden, filled with silly finds. I do go home with many new perspectives.