Contentment Is Only A Thought Away

As I sat on my deck this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, feeling the warm sun on my body, I was transported to another place, time and state of mind.  No, Scottie didn't beam me up, but it felt like it!


I closed my eyes, listened to the surf, the laughter of kids playing, the seagulls and took a deep breath.


When I was an adolescent, my sister and my good friends (you know who you are) would take either the bus, Charlie's VW bug, or my first car that I purchased at the police auction for $200 cash and make our way to Miami Beach for the day.


While relaxing on Miami beach, here is a short list of the things that I DID NOT think about:


•  Money (I had never even heard of a mutual fund)


•  Skin cancer (I had my large bottle of "No Ad" suntan lotion in tow


•  Caloric intake or vitamin supplements


•  How I was going to make a car payment


•  When I was going to ice my knee next


•  When the next Lakers Game was


•  Gas prices (they were 24 cents/gallon)


•  What was for dinner that night (probably Kentucky Fried)


Here is a short list of the things that I DID think about:


•  Tan lines


•  Time to turn to get an even tan


•  Collecting shells


•  If we got to the beach early enough, could we make the first footprints in the sand?


•  The sunrise (again - if we got to the beach early enough)


•  The book I was reading (Probably "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass)


•  Yoga (yes, I practiced in the bedroom even back then)


•  My blow up raft for floating in the ocean, getting an even better tan


The first photo is from our deck in Laguna Beach, the second photo is my sister and I a couple years back in Miami Beach.


Today, I'm "all grown up" yeah right! with all the attendant thoughts that we think grownups need to be preoccupied with.


But in that moment today, closing my eyes, feeling the sun, hearing the surf, it made me realize, contentment - it really is only a thought away.