The alarm goes off in
the dark these days. The days are getting shorter here in Australia but we
still wake up early to go to the ocean.
It’s chilly as I
scurry around making the kids lunches for school, putting some bread in to
toast to eat along the way and making sure the organic, fair trade coffee is
‘plunged’ ready to bring along! I jostle and hustle, the kids grabbing their
still damp wetsuits from the day before – quick, lets get out there to make the
most of this special time!
And of course, this
morning was spectacular - as every morning is – it's always exhilarating to witness
the sun rise above the horizon!
Today we were joined
by my dear friend K, who I met in Kanazawa many years ago and who now lives
with her two sons half the time in the Austrian Alps and half the time on
Australia’s coast.
We sat on the big rock,
basked in the warm sun and watched our children enjoy the waves. We talked
about life and how lucky we were to have the freedom to live like we do. K had
just experienced the ‘culture shock’ of visiting a local shopping mall for a
child’s birthday party on a Sunday morning.
The mall was full of people, and
the kids were trying to win prizes by playing an assortment of games. She
described it as a kind of practice for future gambling – with this sense of manufactured
desire to want something that you don’t need, or don’t even particularly
like! She shared how depressing it
was to wake up on a glorious Sunday morning, with beautiful blue skies and
gentle waves on the ocean, and have to drag her kids away to ‘celebrate’ a
‘birth’ day in a shopping centre…What has happened to us? Where have we lost
our way?
We looked down
to see Pacha with K’s son – leading him along to help him catch some waves.
It was so heart-warming to see the joy in Pacha’s eyes as she shared her
knowledge and love for surfing with a young boy learning new things! These are
the most precious moments, the priceless ones, giving and sharing – as joyfully
inspiring as a brand new day!
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