On Granite, Close to God

It was a beautiful day. I stood on a rock on the northeastern shore of Maine, at the edge of the Atlantic, the sun above me, giving me warmth. The cool air off the ocean kept me balanced, and the rocks beneath me kept me stable. Those granite rocks, and it was a stunning, gorgeous day. I tried to absorb every moment of it, every second.

There was something about being close to the water and the waves that always drew me in, whether by the ocean in the Carolinas, there on the northeastern coast of Maine, on the coast of Ireland, or in the past on the coast of Spain. The warmth of the sun, the waves splashing, the music of nature. It soothed me, calmed me, and brought me peace.

What is interesting is that when I look at my selfies now, I see how different I look as time goes by. More white hair, for one. But also a depth that comes from what I have learned, from my past, from my lessons and mistakes, and from what I continue to learn about life, about hardship, about suffering, about triumph and loss, and about letting go.

Most of all, what I have learned, and am still learning, is to be more kind. Even when you have every justification to hurt somebody, you do not. That is where the strength is. That is where integrity and character come into play. It does not mean you let somebody overstep you. It means knowing the difference between somebody being terrible to you and somebody dealing with their own trauma and pain, whatever their issues are, and choosing to show them more kindness and love instead.

It has not been easy. It is not easy for a man to crush his own ego, to look inside, and to battle his own darker spirit. We all carry both the angelic side and the wild side.

So I came to nature as something divine. Somehow I felt this was as close as I could come to God, because his creation is so magnificent, so glorious, so immense, so deep, so overwhelming, that I had no words except that you have to be there to feel it.

I was very grateful and thankful for every moment. I hope you, too, can find that opportunity wherever you are, here or anywhere in the world. It could be a lake, a pond, a stream. It could be a thirty or forty minute drive to an orchard. It could be by a fountain, by flowers and grass. I hope you are able to find that and connect with that divine creation.

I have also learned, over time, that everything is happening exactly according to my Creator’s plan. Everywhere I go, sometimes without even thinking about it, I am by nature an explorer, in every sense of it. Adrift, learning, reaching, connecting, talking to people. It has been the best source of my knowledge and understanding, whether about life, about politics, about the world, and most of all, about myself.

And standing there on the rocks, it was simply beautiful. I was very grateful for every moment of it, because I knew how precious it was, and how grateful and fortunate I was to have that privilege of standing there, as spiritual and inspiring as it gets.

And, as I so often do, I shared a selfie, one more photo by the water, to hold onto that moment a little longer.

So what are you waiting for? Ask yourself. The world is wide open for you. Get out, get going, live your life. Touch the trees, hug the trees, kiss the flowers, touch the grass, smell the ocean, the salty air. Feel the sun, even ten or fifteen minutes a day. Peel a citrus fruit, an orange, an apple, a pineapple. Just take deep breaths for fifteen minutes a day, and I assure you, you will feel much, much better. A perfect medicine, a natural one, the one that gives you healing. So what are you waiting for?