Wild flowers, branches, and leaves sway gracefully in the wind. I am mesmerized by their beauty. I can spend an eternity watching the ever-changing nature. It is beautiful. As the wind blew my long black hair across my face, covering my eyes, I feel loved.
I haven't gone hiking in months. Living in the big city, I forget about the joy I experience in nature sometimes. I immediately noticed the incredible growth in the last couple of months. During the spring when I last hiked, the trees were still mostly barren, with dark branches making a stark contrast against the blue sky. Today leaves, flowers, and fruits weighed down on the branches. They provided a much better canopy from the sun's rays, though I had on a Yankees hat that sheltered my face from the harmful UV light. :)
Nothing rejuvenates me like a nice hike up in the mountains. I saw a deer peaking behind the branches up a hill, a lizard hurrying along on the dirt, bees buzzing around sweet summer flowers, and flowers loosing their petals in the wind. As white petals rain down on me, I feel the joy of life. There's so much beauty around me, and I feel humbled to be a part of it. I am beauty, love, and joy.
When I went hiking up Malibu Creek, I realize that I appreciate the Malibu mountains as much I do the ocean below. As I walked up the dirt road, the overhanging trees provided a sheltering canopy from the scorching sun. I noticed many small lizards running across my path. Sounds of water running down the creek soothed me. I could feel the stream flowing through me, stripping away layers and layers, leaving me with my aloneness. At peace. Loving me.
It was not a typical hot beach day in Los Angeles, but since I have been venturing out towards the water every weekend, I didn't want to skip my visit. As I approached the water, I noticed a huge tree, uprooted, lying on its side. I felt sad. I descended the steps leading down to the water, holding on to the railing for support, against the strong gusts blowing at me.
Windy and cold, in the 60s, the water crashed upon the shore with much energy and vigor. The turbulent waves unsettled the seaweeds, crabs, and rocks from the ocean floor. Tossed upon the desolate beach, people and seagulls picked at their remains. They are the artifacts that give land creatures a glimpse into the life under the sea.
Walking close to the waves, I got my flip flips and cuffs wet. I enjoyed the sounds of the waves, each current different from the next. I noticed the foam that collected along the shore. It might be oil pollution that caused the foaming, as I looked out along the horizon and saw oil wells in the water. That's my guess. I was mesmerized by how pretty the foams looked against the radiant light. Fragile and reflective, they blew away quickly. How beautiful!
After a week of not being able to drive to the beach on a whim, I missed it terribly. Today I finally went and it was a bit of a homecoming. It was low tide when I got there. The rocks that the waves usually crash down on were exposed. Seagulls played hop scotch on them, looking for their next meal. Small kids followed their lead, as they skipped around from one mossy rock to another.
The seagulls and children brought out the child in me. I wanted to join them then, but I was too comfortable laying on my stomach, tanning. I was again in another string bikini, which in my boyfriend's words, "is quite a bikini." I'll leave it at that. I'll continue tanning...
Looking up at the sky and out into the vast blue ocean, I felt like I lived in a fish bowl. I felt the most relaxed and comfortable. The warm sand embraced me. I got lost in the magnificent love of the sun. I can't live without it. I can't get enough of it. Don't let the sun go down on me. Don't let the sun go down on me.
'Tis the summer of love, the summer of pain, and the summer of betrayal. 'Tis the summer of pushing things and people to the limit, and testing my own limits. What is gained? What is lost? I am not the same. We are not the same.
Yet, at my favorite playground, my favorite part of the coast, surfing is a constant. Perhaps that's what keeps me coming back. It gives me peace. With the sun blazing after a rainy day, the waves crash loudly and rhythmically along the sandy beach. Soothed and calmed by the sounds of the big blue sea, I laid on my beach towel and blanket wearing my sunflower-yellow bikini, reflecting on days gone by, on my indulgences, experimentations, and abandonment, and the meaning of my days.
Summer may have ended, but the sun continues to shine in L.A., and on me. It's not so bad. Now is a time of contemplation, of healing, of mourning, of rejoicing in love. After the betrayal, the hurt, and pain, love gives us hope, keeps us sane, and invigorates our soul. Love survives. We will prevail.
It was rush hour. I sat inside my car in bummer-to-bummer traffic on the 10W heading back to Santa Monica. With the AC blasting I did not feel the scorching heat, though I know it was in the 80s. I looked out of my side window into the blinding light and saw buildings east of downtown backlit, creating an breathtaking skyline that represent the industrial parts of Los Angeles. My sun-kissed face felt the sun's magnificence and warm. For a moment, I exist oblivious to the long drive ahead. I lived in the beauty of that moment, how lovely I felt to be kissed by the sun. How lovely it feels to be kissed by the sun.
Up in the pristine mountains, nature achieves its own balance. Snakes, lizards, bees and trees coexist, each living and helping each other. Spider webs abound. The catch of the day could be seen between their entanglements, as sunlight shines through their tenuous threads. Their sheer beauty, intricacy, and simplicity fascinate me. I stand humbly between the towering trees in awe of nature's order, chaos, and magnificence. All is love. All is beauty. Simply perfect.
In the darkness of night, the head and tail lights from fast moving cars on the freeway become paint brushes as they create enchanting designs. The sense of time and space captured in the photographs reveal the uniqueness of each moment.
