I took a last-minute trip to get out of the cold New England rainy spring and found a sweet spot here on the North shore of the DR. It’s a little boutique spa and hotel right on the beach and has organic food, a wonderful spa and I can hear and see the ocean from my cabana.
I have been able to really unwind and get a lot of writing done. I am working on my 2nd book now and have deadlines that I was starting to slip a bit. I am glad to say that I am all caught up and am now plotting my escape from New England. I am determined to snow bird and this might be a good place to go to.
It’s been really lovely to get out of the normal routine of my life and sleep when I want to sleep, write when I want to, take long walks on the beach and sit and stare at the waves. Nothing to do and nowhere to be. I hit that vacay vibe where you forget what day of the week it is or what time it is since it doesn’t really matter. Something deep in my being unplugged and is thriving on the lack of wi-fi (spotty) no one to talk to (did I mention that I am here alone?) and all the ozone one gets from being near the crashing waves. I let go of my strict eating rules and am just eating what I please when I am hungry and enjoying every minute of it.
There is no one around really. The hotel where I am staying is practically deserted. I take my computer to all the little cozy places to write and the staff shows up with coffee and water and a snack for me. Turns out that this hotel is a popular spot for artists of all kinds and they are used to writers coming and behaving strangely by writing all day.
Yesterday I walked for about 2 miles or so down deserted beaches, finding cove after cove of pristine beaches with no one them. Not a beach umbrella or a tall resort anywhere in sight, just the kite surfers and board surfers riding the waves. I have never seen such a long stretch of beach with no one else on it. As far as I could see in both directions, only palm trees, sand and waves. High season is over and even the few beach villas I saw looked empty.
There is no hustle and bustle here. No dreary, rainy cold weather. The sun is sinking into my bones and driving out the chill. I think it was a soul level chill – a disconnection from my being that was not based on the weather, but rather some internal freezing and forgetting the pleasures of living.
I am remembering is how much fun life can be. It’s deeply soul satisfying to live a mindful life, and I am mean mindfully experiencing the joy and pleasure of being alive in a body, without guilt, or shame. (Oh my god I took a nap and ate a piece of toast and had an adult beverage!) I don’t believe that I was meant to be living monk like on nothing but prayer and a strictly whatever diet, even though I often choose to believe that, as if that was going to GET me something.
There is a middle ground somewhere between all out hedonism and the monk’s life that is about finding balance and pleasure in the moment and trusting my body, heart and soul to know what it needs. I am relaxing the inner rule keeper and living a more lush life. And finding joy and pleasure in that. I am letting go of all the inner rules I have to see what I really want at this stage of my life. If I didn’t have any “have tos” what can I do? What do I want to do next? I can sell my house and downsize, or buy a 2 family and so have no mortgage payment and then I could spend the winter here or somewhere like here… hmmm….? What else am I telling myself that I have to do that is actually not serving me anymore? What else can I let go of that I haven’t considered? So many things have become cemented into my mind and I feel those things washing away with the surf and the salty wind.
It’s easy to let go of all of those things, as I am sitting on the beach, watching the waves roll in and drinking my morning coffee.
Who could I be if I let myself off the leash?
Tomorrow I am headed back to New England, work and my busy life. I hope that I can hang onto my island vibe and remember to love my life no matter what is happening. And either way, I am going to be coming back here, very soon, I think!
Sending you all a little tropical love…. Xoxox!
