A Spiritual Awakening, Part III: Enjoying The Richness of Life .......7/12/12

We do not remember days, we remember moments. 
The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.   

       Good late evening everyone,

This was a different but wonderful day.  Corresponding with friends this week, including today, has knit me closer with them.  I awoke to a wonderful and amazing letter, waiting in my e-mail mailbox.  I enjoy interacting with you, my guests, too.  I am touched by your insights, thoughtfulness, sensitivity to life, your gratitudes and your increasing
enthusiasm for the Great Big Life God wants us to seize and enjoy.

       It thrills me, observing many of you catching the Vision of this inn of gratitude.  I see it in your comments, I feel it in the observations shared and I bathe in the positivity you bring here.

       Life was meant to be enjoyed, where we delight in its richness.  Respecting others, valuing them, appreciating small, but heart-warming moments----a beautiful sunset, a smile that blesses us----and other positive moments that present themselves in the course of the day, is a spiritual awakening. We are prone to let tasks overtake our focus, in the process these duties can blind us from precious moments each day offers.

       Having clarity of mind when severely challenged is a spiritual awakening, also.  Not controlling others and releasing the toxicity of judging others and ourselves also reveals a spiritual awakening.  This is our new nature, wrought from recovery.

      Living with lightness, by releasing our burdens to God, exhibiting kindness and love toward others----including those who are less than kind, reveals a spiritual awakening.  We demonstrate being touched by our Higher Power's grace.  Wow.

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        Today I responded to someone's needs.  A humbling privilege it is, witnessing someone unfurling the petals of their deepest selves.

        So it has been this week.  I am richer for it.  Many of you share your journey with the gratitudes you share here. You are becoming more the person you desire to be.  Thank you for allowing us to know you better.  (That's a gratitude.)

        Letters are a quaint way of communicating.   Often, I address letters the old fashioned way, with a Dear ________ salutation.  Now, most everyone writes me with a "Hi Pablo."

        It's nice seeing letters opening with, "Dear Pablo."  I don't know why, but it is charming, even.  I find letters personal. They are permanent records of thoughts and feelings expressed when life for many is transitory.  Correspondence is more thought provoking than text messages or phone calls.  Best, they can be re-read, testaments to a verbal link with another.

        I am blessed.  Many of my friends are true, non-FaceBook type of companions.  They are not acquaintances that FaceBook has cheapened as friends.  My friends and I visit regularly, usually an hour a week.

        Life is a matter of moving forward.  It's surprising what it holds for us.  The genuineness shared in this inn, meets my need for connection, celebrating life, companionship and caring sensitivity.

A Cycling Adventure with Pablo Jr. 

       This evening, at seven p.m., my oldest son and I rode bikes. Wow, was I challenged.  It was his first time riding in over a year.  Am I glad.  (It gave me an edge, I can be a little competitive--- as if you didn't know.)

View from the Grand Marina, overlooking the Alameda
Harbor. Across the water is Jack London Square.

       I pushed the pace, my son stayed with me, Pablo Sr. alongside Pablo Jr.  It was fun, sharing a part of my world with him.  We rolled by numerous marinas and up inclined, literal, old-fashioned boardwalks at the Grand Marina.

       When we cycled along Crab Cove, Crown Beach and South Shore, we threaded our way among the many who strolled along the parks and perimeter of the San Francisco Bay.

Another view from Grand Marina in Alameda. This

looks across the estuary towards Jack London Square

                     also, and downtown Oakland.

       We dug in, laboring on the slippery sand of the island's eastern edge of the south shore. After traversing nine miles in forty minutes, under the bicycle bridge at the end of Fernside Blvd., we paused. We basked in the cool San Francisco Bay breezes, gazing into the mouth of San Leandro Bay.

       The one hundred and eight year-old Aeolian Marina offered pleasant sights of boats and yachts. We drank from our water bottle while taking in the music of waves lapping along the island shores.  It was living life at its best.

Crab Cove. They are found, to the right of this picture, 

nestled among the rocks. San Francisco looms behind.

       After our respite, we left the island and scampered seven miles along the San Leandro Bay, the Harbor Bay shoreline, eventually returning to the island. We headed west, pushing against the Pacific Ocean wind on tree-lined Central Ave. It runs down the spine of the island city of Alameda.

      The best was yet to come. We stopped at Juanita's, a Mexican restaurant on Park Ave. We each downed a margarita while munching on chicken filled nachos slathered with guacamole. Better yet, we visited for two hours.

      A day doesn't get better than this.  A fortunate man I am.  My life is immersed with tremendous, empathetic friends, I'm connecting with dear ones through correspondence, I cycled, enjoyed sand, surf, and the wind roaring in my ears, as I pushed and cycled against it.  I had a special time with a dear son. My life is entirely rich.

Related Post:
A Spiritual Awakening,Staying in the Moment, Not Distracted by Fear or Resentment