…simply Grateful!!
MY HEART BEATS FOR TURQUOISE!!!!!!!!
…hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!
I walked up into the mountains to celebrate my gratitude for all that is:
The air is still cool as I lock my bike and start up the trail. Ahhhh, morning light glowing on the hillside! Lovely!! I wander along, still a bit sleepy…
The trees are standing so tall! I thank them and inhale some of their life-giving O2…it seems so green and lush in contrast to the Golden State?! The leaves are almost leaping out across the grassy trail, I can almost feel the chlorophyll working its photosynthetic magic! Life, what miracle…what mystery!…what gratitude I feel!?
My hunk of flesh and bones burns and perspires as I break into a quick sprint, just for fun…to feel my heart beat! My machine is working, I’m ALIVE!
…Ho! Wild horses! Not a bad gig they got up here…tranquille…munching at the plentiful foliage…two baby foals lie quietly in the grass, a grown horse rolls on its back in the sun…I bid them ‘tama’a maitai’ (bon apetite!) and carry on with my sprint until it hurts too much. I march slowly along again…some pigs and cows too, bumble in and out of the brush along the trail. Lizards dash on tree trunks and the wind gossips amongst the limbs overhead.
Almost there…
The top!! The belly of the lagoon shimmers in the morning sun—diamonds sparkling over turquoise! That turquoise…oh how that color really does it for me! Can’t ever seem to get enough of it…and petite tufts of puffy white trot across the vast ceiling of blue. The sea and sky are full of joy today, not a menacing cirrus or towering cumulonimbus, or jagged wind wave in sight. I can make out small lines pushing into the reef on the south coast…I know where I’ll be this afternoon…
I sit in the shade of the trees and contemplate gratitude…a notion with the ability to transform every moment. No matter what’s going on in my life, there’s always so much to be grateful for…I won’t think about the stuck throttle lever and the broken bilge pumps or the heap of musty laundry or the black mold all over Swell’s ceiling…no, no…and they aren’t all that bad anyway…look at this day!? I’m healthy and here to witness it!
Looking up, I see red in the tree above me…wild guavas!!?! They’re dripping off the trees all around!! And mangos too!…What a thanksgiving feast! I munch and munch and munch until I cannot eat another…and gather until my sacs are full. Thanksgiving harvest!! Gratitude! Gratitude! Plenty for my friends…and why not try to make some jam!?
Thanksgiving harvest–wild strawbery guavas!
10 Comments
Said
November 30, 2010Good vibes! :)
Sara Salo
December 1, 2010Liz – well said. The joy of fresh, handpicked food is an amazing experience. Giving thanks for our ability to experience such things! I’ll be setting off on an adventure of my own soon – a bike tour across the US to advocate for healthier school meals. The goal is to engage students and encourage community involvement in developing healthy and sustainable environments for youth. Visits to local farms will be highlights of my trip as well. I would love to chat sometime and learn more about your experiences in organizing extensive travel, soliciting sponsorship and effective blogging. Get in touch if you have time!
Keep up the fabulous travels and thanks for your ever-insightful thoughts.
Cheers,
Sara
p.s. Gorgeous photo!
lizzy
December 5, 2010Hi Sara, sounds like a fantastic adventure!!! I’m so excited for you! I’ll get back to you more thoroughly asap!! :) best, Liz
Ryan Tremearne
December 2, 2010Liz,
Your blog inspires me to live the way it should be lived. Keep up all the good work. Maybe one day our boats shall cross paths.
Cheers,
Ryan
Alan
December 2, 2010Hey Liz, great site. I just wanted to let you know I added you to my Links page and November blog. Alan :) See you out there.
lizzy
December 5, 2010Thanks Alan!!!! your site looks great too!! :) Liz
Brande Thorpe
December 3, 2010mmmmmmm Guavas!!!!
Lavonne Trevino
December 23, 2010Good vibes! :)
لپ تاپ
February 25, 2012great job Lizzy
“Looking up, I see red in the tree above me…wild guavas!!?! They’re dripping off the trees all around!! And mangos too!…What a thanksgiving feast! I munch and munch and munch until I cannot eat another…and gather until my sacs are full. Thanksgiving harvest!! Gratitude! Gratitude! Plenty for my friends…and why not try to make some jam!?” i loved this part, it shows you love you friends very much!!!
lizzy
February 29, 2012Very true…I LOVE my friends so much! Always thinking of them!! :) capt liz