I always find myself with mixed feelings that need sorted out right before every new year.
Every Year. Same Thing.
A couple of days before New Year's Eve, i was getting antsy and knew i needed an adventure....nothing big, but something that was enough to get me out of my head and into my heart.
My intent was to head to Maine, but i found myself pulling off to Salisbury....which i never, ever do.
Don't know why, didn't question it, but it felt funny to travel the old familiar road that leads you to the center, where all things have changed, but the core has stayed the same.
I'll have to admit, i was pretty raw and much of what i was feeling was being reflected back to me as i walked the shoreline.
As i watched the ocean, i felt like most of the year i had been walking in the space between stillness and crashing momentum...learning to go with the flow and when to move my ass or the next wave is gonna take me down...lol...It was the exact time and space i needed to shift the perspective of where I've been, but not feel the pressure to figure out where I'm going.
As freezing cold as it was, the contrast of colors between the sky, the ocean and the earth were pretty incredible that day.
As i wandered around and off the beach to leave, there were remnants of Christmas were still blowing in the breeze on the boardwalk...i found a couple of businesses that stay open year round....woot woot for beach pizza...lol...so damn good :)
While waiting, i found my way into the arcade that was has been there forever and a day...it felt so good to get lost in Ms. PacMan for a bit...it has been years since i stopped in an arcade and just played without thinking about time or worrying about where and what everyone else is doing.
All of this has me thinking that, sometimes, i think we don't need to stay steadfast to where we are going all the time.
It's okay to veer from the path from time to time to take in different scenery. There's a part of you that needs to just take a break and play for a bit.
I think we get so caught up and focused on needing to know the why's and how's and stay caught in the rhythmic momentum of our lives that we forget what it feels like to explore and play in places that are old, but now new....familiar yet, unknown.
I find that when we go back to those places, the old that is now new, it can bring us face to face with what's old and new within us as well....the core...if we are looking for it, know what i mean?
Wander off your path for a bit, find the places that are old but new that are around you....it may just lead you to new understandings and experiences that you may not have felt had you stayed the course.