Lessons from the Beach

Ah well. I am a lucky lady.

I got to take a trip!

In October, I spent almost a week at the Chief Learning Officers Conference at Laguna Niguel, California.

Have you been there?

You'd know if you have because it is a beautiful place! You can click on the picture to see it in a larger format.

I've been overworked lately and so it was a blessing to have some time to take a little bit of a break (the break was mostly because the Blackberry went down AND the conference didn't have the typical free wi-fi that I'm used to at other conferences). So, I took plenty of breaks to walk the different beaches in the area.

I stayed at Dana Point which is just a couple of miles south from Laguna Beach. The conference was held at the Ritz Carleton which is the hotel in the upper right of the photo and the large cliffs drop down to a beautiful place where surfers try to conquer the waves.

Every day I took an hour or two to just walk and think at the different beaches - Dana Point Beach, Laguna Beach, and Huntington Beach - all south of LA, but north of San Diego.

First, the feelings and senses of a morning walk:

• Mesmerizing - the rhythm of the water lapping on the shore was mesmerizing. It always takes me off to another place and yet I'm very clearly present.
• Smell - seaweed, cold humidity, freshness and leftover campfire smoke mixed in the air most mornings. Yet, it was so real compared to the fake hotel air and cheap plastic of rental cars.
• Invigorating - between the fresh wind off the ocean, runners on the boardwalk and the feeling of cold sand under the feet, there is a feeling of renewal AND that no other day in the past matters and no day in the future. Just right there and then. There is also a feeling that I can walk forever and feel healthy and fit.
• Reflective - there is something about staring off into the horizon that forces the thoughts about where I am, where I'm going, and what I have to change. It makes me think of how I need to be more and figure out what path I have to take to do so.
• Gratitude and Amazement - I feel at one with the sand, the sky and the water. The wild life is amazing and seems to come out of nowhere frequently. Shells, seals, sea gulls, crows, dogs, cats, whales, cranes, and gnats. For some reason beaches and mountains bring these feelings out in me more than anywhere.

One of my most frequent thoughts taking the walks had to do with the rip tide and various currents that splashed up on the shores with great vigor. The surfers sought them out and I found myself waiting with anxiousness to capture the perfect wave crashing moment. It seemed like all the opportunities were on the edges - the edges of the waves, the edges of the beach, the edges of the cliffs, etc. The middle was safe and calm, but the edges offered the most excitement and opportunity. I know in real life that can be a good thing and a bad thing. Hmmm. I'll have to think more on this thought.
Anyway, good little trip. We won and award that I got to accept which was pretty funny ...or not. I accepted an award for a project I led, but that our president got to claim. That's how it works when you are the little guy and have to report to "the man." Ha. Ah well. I have it pretty good.
One of my most favorite parts of my week was choosing to drive up the Pacific Coast Freeway from Laguna Beach to LA on the way to the airport, which is where I took a break to enjoy Huntington Beach during a time of year where hardly any people were there. It was great fun watching the dozens of surfers wait for the perfect wave. Many would wait 15-20 minutes at a time. Really interesting. Some of the less experienced would try more which I guess gave them the practice they needed to become experts in time.
All too soon it was back to the East coast to catch up on the pile up of work projects, home improvements and catching up with relationships. (-:

A week after getting home I realized that I did not really need to sell my house and go live on the beach after all. It would be just fine to visit periodically. (-: