Zenitude #33: Don't Rush Life, Don't Hush Life, Get Naked In The Hot Tub

We’ve been at The Sea Ranch in central/northern California for the past 7 days and if I had my way <insert feet stomping, big sighs, pouty face, hands on hips, screaming, throwing myself on the floor – I obviously have issues> The Husband would be driving home without me tomorrow. So, I’m letting you all in on my secret – I’m having an affair.

An affair with this place. It has stolen my heart which is now wrapped around every wave, deer, landscape, seascape, cliff and trail. The Husband saw it in my eyes the moment we arrived. He has accepted and embraced my lover, too. Obviously, The Husband and I are made from the same mold.

But you are now asking, where the heck is this Sea Ranch you speak of, Zen Girl. It's in the middle of nowhere and I love it. Months before we arrived, I knew I would be as smitten as with a kitten.

Where do you shop for clothes, house, stuff? You don’t. You minimize. Well, Santa Rosa is about an hour twenty away, so there is that or San Fran – 3 hours away. We have seen those brown things called UPS trucks, so we know they deliver – may take a month, but it will get here.

Where do you get groceries? Now you’re getting complicated and perhaps competitive. There are TWO stores across from each other in Gualala – just up from Sea Ranch. One claims more organic and then there’s the other store. But then there’s the farmer’s market on the weekend!

Where do you eat? At home, of course. Well, there are a couple of restaurants in town. But windy roads are not conducive to wine. Not advised. And Uber is not a familiar word in this tiny city speck.

What do you do? Now you’re talking. Therein is the beauty of this love affair. There is space here, literally, to figure it out. And as, you, my Zen-itude friends know by now, I am still figuring it out. New phases of life bring about some really super crazy hyper emotions and complex times of self-questioning. Am I right? You’ve worked hard all of your life, you've had big hair, little hair, no hair and big hair again, had several successful careers, lost some really special people, children have moved away to create their own lives, come back and moved again, you’ve moved around, you’ve slept around and around, you’ve divorced, married, divorced, married, you want to love your parents more than you ever have or you have lost them to this life, the house is too big, too small, the house is empty, you question who, what, where and when – and…you’re left with heart racing, scary, anxiety-ridden questions. What’s next? Where am I? Who am I? The rest of my life is ahead of me – or at least tomorrow – so what is next? Can I start over? Can I start over for the umpteenth time? Sometimes it feels like when you graduated from high school or college or were newly married – and you continue to experience that incapacitating deer in the headlights emotion. Which way do I go?

Over the past few months, I’ve learned that being at a standstill isn’t the enemy. It is actually the Creator. The Creator of new realizations. It is only when we stand still while the world spins around us that we quit chasing life and dreams and can begin to figure out our heart’s desire. So find some stillness. Don't force things to happen. Please.

The moral of the story? There are two:

• Don’t rush your life.

• Don’t hush your life.

This place is going to be a life-long love affair of body, mind and spirit. Stay tuned.

Zenitude for today:

Don’t rush your life. Don’t hush your life. Get naked in the hot tub.