Writing and Photos by Jayne (from the east coast of Australia, mostly Queensland)
Over the past 12 months, my husband Ed and I have been traveling the world as nomads. As many of you reading this know, we sold most of what we owned in the USA, and what remains is a 3×3 metre square (10 sq. ft) storage unit, and what we’ve got packed in two roller bags and two daypacks. Our intention was to set out and see what we could as the world navigated the pandemic, what our budget would allow, and where our curious wandering minds might lead us.
Many days over the past year have been spent near the ocean, often walking alongside it, looking at it from 30,000 feet in the air, or swimming in it. This particular piece of writing is what it has been teaching me and, in particular, where the idea came into my awareness. We spent a month along the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia where every day, except for one, I walked along the beach at the water’s edge. We have been to this particular part of Australia many times before, largely because we’ve been drawn to the 20+ kilometres of endless beach. I have walked along its entire length, not in one go, but collectively, and, as a result, I have seen its many moods and variations.
One day, as I walked along the path that empties on the beach, it was grey and had been raining. I had on my rainjacket and was willing to get wet. The moment I saw the edges of the stark white breaking waves contrasted against the dark greyish clouds behind, I was struck by how it was simply a reflection of my current mood. What could appear to be an uninviting day, one where retreating with a book, and a cup of something warm would seem the seductive choice, the ominous day held the potential to experience a striking and unusual beauty, as well as solitude along most of the beach.
As I walked, the sand being kicked up by the wind not only stung my ankles but created a moving landscape of whispy long tendrils. I thought to myself, “every day this place is different. Every morning that I step onto the same beach, it’s as though a clean slate is waiting before me with the potential to write anything upon it.”
What I had been learning is that just like the ocean, my mind and actions have the same potential. Every morning I can create whatever it is I like, that I too have the opportunity to recognize that today is a new day and if I’m truly awake to that, I can begin to act and live in a way of my own making. I can create it, based on the current conditions, into anything I choose.
Walking along the beach has taught me that some days are simply bright and sunny, and seemingly carefree. Other days, cloudy grey skies with a chance of rain could put a damper on a beautiful day, but only if I choose to see it that way. Walking along the beach day after day has reminded me of the impermanence of life, what was one day a driftwood fortress is a pile of sticks the next day. That some mornings there’s not a scrap of rubbish to be collected, and on others, there’s more than I can pick up. Some days the tide is so far out, that the sand is wet and firmly packed, and on others when the only path is the deep soft sand to walk upon as the tide is close to the dunes.
Every single day is different. What was there yesterday, isn’t here today. Just like life. Every single day is fleeting and unique and with that being said, it offers us perspective to embrace both the easy sunny days as well as the ones that appear dark and foreboding. To be able to hold both of these in a state of equilibrium, I find myself once again being fully embedded in my yoga practice.
A year into our nomadic journey, my practice looks different from what it used to look like. And in a sense, this current chapter feels practical and real, without having a mat to confine what I do, I try to be fully present with as much as I possibly can. I am grateful for the brilliant teacher that the ocean, the waves, the sun, wind, sand, and rain are teaching me. It’s powerful and I hope you too can find something in your life where it feels as though the opportunity for refreshing your imagination and sense of self is as powerful as the ocean.
