Am I Living My Best Life?

in #hive-1063163 years ago

Am I living my best life?

Yesterday I thought I might be. My hair and heart were full of salt - I'd been oceanwise since before sun up, surfing for hours. Sometimes I just like to stand on my board out there and watch the water, the seaweed moving underneath, the gentle rolls of waves. Out on the headland waves break in rolls - I can see why they call a 'mexican wave' such as thing - it starts at one end of the rocks and lifts up and down, up and down, exploding in a rooster tail of white water alive in the sunlight. The moon sets over the cliffs some weeks - to see the moon set and sun rise at the same time is pretty darn special.

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The photo above doesn't do it justice - it's a quick snap just before sun up, in between sets. But you get the idea. Sun, salt, clouds, waves. My little piece of heaven on earth. There's nowhere I feel such at ease, nowhere I feel so content. This moving meditation of paddling, taking off, water on my skin - it has a way of bringing me into my body that nothing else can.

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Grabbing a soy latte on the way home, I'm buzzed. My sinus headache of the last three days, threatening to unravel me, is flushed away. Saltwater cure all in a world bottle. At home, I have a lot to do - it's Autumn, and harvest time. I'm grateful not to get any work this week - I don't want it, but we need an occasional few days to fill the coffers. But there's so many darn tomatoes coming out of the garden I'm swimming in them - pickled, stewed, baked, fried. And the apples! Goodness. I spend hours stewing the buggers.

But listening to tunes loud, with the warm breeze coming through, I think to myself, bloody hell, I feel content.

It doesn't - won't - last. I'm not a content person - I'm always looking to the next thing. Being an air sign, this makes sense - I live a lot in my head (the ocean grounds me) thinking of ideas - projects, travel. I long for adventure just to feed my brain. I think of Dad dying and me with maybe twenty good years left.

I've had a freaking awesome life and despite the few moments where I've done things I'm not proud of, I'm happy with the past, or happy enough. Part of me wishes I'd done more, been more adventurous, but I was always one to be tied a little by expectations, and then Jarrah came along and things got - different, though we still had so many crazy adventures after that. The future? Well, I don't know if I"m going to be happy staying here and filling jars with apples year after year.

I do meditation to cope with my brain and I understand life's ups and downs, the invitable waves, the eventual crashing on the shore of death and disippating into infinite space. With our thoughts we make our worlds. I can choose 'content', if I like. But it seems my nature keeps reverting to movement, change, other-than-this-ness.

And that's okay, because I get these lovely, warm, gooey feelings quite often these days, an utter satisfaction with where I am now, amongst the wishing and wantings and movement, and constant waves.

I actually had no idea which community to post this in! I wanted to respond to a post @galenkp wrote on being 'content', but it wasn't the Weekend - and I had no idea where else to put it! So, given I'm semi retired and have silver threads starting at my forehead, I thought - well, the silvers it is!

With Love,

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!LUV it. So much. Your descriptive language, again, @riverflows takes me to the ocean, to the beach, to the waves and the salt and the sand with you.

And I too am an air sign; always in my head, always thinking, somewhat restless. Does the latter come with us being an air sign?

Glad your head is clear, both figuratively and literally. !LOL 😉😅😘😊

I honestly think the air sign explains a LOT! I have to consciously recognise when I'm in my head and do things to come back to earth!! I think that's why I love nature... You don't have to work as hard to ground!

😁 I love nature too and I'm sure it's for that reason!

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This is so beautiful, I understand it must be powerful to be out among the waves. I love being in the water as well but I'm not a good surfer, haha. I have only tried a few times. But I have a scuba certification 🙂

I wish I could feel the same but I can't really say that I have had an awesome life. But I know I can change this. If only my health improved there is so much I want to do!

I know I'm not up to date but have you abandoned the plans to move to Tasmania?

xx

I hope your health improves as I know you find it debilitating. It does make it hard to find the mental strength to adjust thinking as it's all consuming and ever present!

I'll update via Tassie soon. X

I don't know if I"m going to be happy staying here and filling jars with apples year after year.

Ya, I know you are coming to India soon :) There will be plenty of fun but no apples though.

I could swap apples for aloo matter, samosa, and aloo paratha with lime pickle ANY DAY!!

There are unlimited choice out there :)

I think best life is as much a state of mind than a physical thing. Sure, those things we do physically are awesome markers however, if we apply the feeling, tone and mood of those things when we can't actually do them we can find a similar state of enjoyment and fulfillment. Or so I believe. I'd say you're doing fine River.

Sure is a state of mind! Sometimes the very fact I am 🫁 breathing is ace!

Breathing isn't one those overrated things. One must breathe mustn't one?

Absolutely! We do it without thinking, but if we paid attention to our breath more we have more control over how we feel, and can recognise how we might be feeling. Long, slow breathes can save us. I remember learning the yogis saying we all have a certain amount of breaths allocated to us in our lifetime. I thought it was hogwash but if you think about fast, shallow breathing - that shizzle ain't gonna have you live long.

I've never thought of it this way but it makes sense. Deep breathing can be awesome so who wouldn't want to do more of it?

That feeling of being content, though shortlived, speaks to me of fulfillment in the moment. Even if later you have to turn back to things that stress you out or just the usual responsibilities of the material world, I think those moments of clarity, where you feel you and you is enough, are genuine connections with the Divine, and I further think that our job in this world is to make more of those moments happen, less spaced out. To live our lives that way as regularly as we can. Each moment makes it a little bit easier to experience such things more, and with more intensity too.

Blessings to you, dear. Big hug from the other side of the world!

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By how you dance with the waves and play with the water, it seems so you are living the best :) And I think it is normal that at times we don't feel content of what we have or where we are and for me, that's a sign of growth :)

Thankyou, that's true. I think the older you get the easier it is to recognise contentment when you feel it. X

You are right :) "Wisdom comes with age," as they say.❤

It's a lot of things to relate for me; bad sinus problems, mistakes, self-happiness, someone you love has been through chemo, ups & downs in life, and more. I felt stunned for a while tbh.
Personally, sometimes it has been a battle of me vs prove-your-worth(i could have done this/that) and at the moment my content gets lost. And, I feel disconnected.
The ocean and music do well for you even for a while; it's great you make time to figure out your self-love during the times. A path to be craved by self-love and happiness is hard, hopefully, unexpected incidents heal with time. Wishing you the best, as in the reflection of living, the content will follow through.

I'm sorry you are having a tough time. We never should have to feel we must prove our worth... We are all worthy just by being alive and being good people.

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^_^ Life is full of emotions and I am sure you are living your best life. Im happy to know that you have meditation to observe inner. Sometimes, we do not need to do except keep our breathing. Once we are still alive, we have everything.
Yesterday, my mind was up in the air, I wrote a blog with full of my personal negative thinking but I still did not send it in any community just because I dont want to let any reader be down after reading. I brought it into my meditation time then I knew and saw your post. ^^ Be happy with what we have. I love to read your post, dear! Wish you peaceful and stillness in every moment!

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I've had a freaking awesome life and despite the few moments where I've done things I'm not proud of, I'm happy with the past, or happy enough.

Not many people can claim that! A freaking awesome life? That's so moving. While still being grounded finishing the sentence, ocean did a great job :)

Being in the sea (we don't have ocean here) is my cure for EVERYTHING!

I can relate to almost everything you say, especially to always looking for the next thing. I used to feel guilty for looking like I am not content with what I do and always looking for the next thing, now I have totally embraced it and I know simply that this is me. I just try to keep me satisfied during the process and to take the most out of this. It feeds me :)

I really hope and wish that your father feels the best way possible.

I used to feel guilty for looking like I am not content with what I do and always looking for the next thing, now I have totally embraced it and I know simply that this is me. I just try to keep me satisfied during the process and to take the most out of this. It feeds me :)

Oh my god, sister from another mister, nailed it - that's absolutely me! xxx

Dad's feeling good at the moment. They send his cells to LA next week for tweaking then in six weeks they put them back. Modern medicine - rad! A bit of chemo in between. But he's in good spirits and feeling good for now!

Wow, amazing medical stuff! I wish for the best! And glad to hear that he feels good, sooo important.
xxx