Monday, January 4, 2016

The First Day

In the last days of 2015 there were several ideas of "resolutions", or goals, running through my head for the new year. From the obvious (lose ten pounds! draw every day!) to the ambitious (create a daily photo journal of gratitude) and strict (do x for 30 minutes a day, and y for 30 minutes a day, followed by z for 30…), I was clearly going to need to make a daily schedule.

Ugh. Not the most appealing way to start the new year.

Then, for New Year's Eve, we went to the Black Light Hot Yoga class (who knew THAT existed?). 
Photocredit: www.yogatrail.com

The instructor had just one goal for herself in 2016. She wanted to be kinder.  I gladly discarded my laborious plan and stole her idea. Resolved:  to be kinder to myself, to others (people, animals, the planet). There. Much better. 

So on the first day…
we went for a long walk on the beach…
…which was kind to Toby, right?
 and kind to myself, since it's something I enjoy and good exercise. There were lots of interesting things to see. Toby posed by a big heart-shaped sand castle on the lonely beach.

There were purple jellyfish, big and small, that the tide left behind as it went out. 



The tide also washed a lot of trash onto the sand.  I picked up an unopened bag of Fritos, a plastic cigarillo tip, a bait container, and the usual assorted wrappers, straws, butts, bottles, and broken bits of plastic. 

Someone has been planting grass to prevent dune erosion. Winter's a good time for it. Maybe the grass can take hold before the summer crowds arrive. Despite all the signage there are always a few who can't resist climbing on the dunes. 



There was one hardy surfer, but no decent surfing waves. I think he was just out there because it was a cool thing to do for New Year's Day. He came ashore, poked his board into the sand beside him, and took a selfie with his back to the ocean. He was right too - it was a cool thing to do, full wetsuit and all!

And then there was the guy in shorts who stood by the sea and juggled. He was good at it. He was alone. What was that all about? Ten minutes later he left.

A couple of hours later we left too. It felt like we were off to a good start.

P.S. For those who know about my new camera - it was at home. These pictures were taken with my phone. It's a bit scary to take the big camera around all that sand.

But for Christmas I got a whole bunch of Great Courses DVD's with photography lectures by Joel Sartore. So stand by to see some of the homework in the future :)







12 comments:

  1. Hummmm bending down to pick up all that Litter is Good fur YOU and fur the ENVIRONMENT TOO... WAY TO GO...

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    1. Yep gotta go bend at yoga so I can bend to get the litter I guess :/

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  2. Lovely! The best thing you can do is NOT make resolutions, but have "intentions" instead......you have an entire year to attain them......why just in January?
    DakotasDen

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    1. Good intentions just sounds better doesn't it?

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  3. That's a great resolution!! That yoga class looks...fun! :D

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    1. It really was fun, in addition to the weirdness. Especially when the whole group did the standing poses it looked really cool to see all the glowing light moving in unison. It wasn't great for concentration - I kept getting totally distracted - but it was fun.

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  4. Let us know how the great course on photography goes, I have been thinking about it.
    Wishing you success with being kinder.

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    1. I just finished the homework for the third lesson and I've already learned so much. If you haven't bought a Great Courses before, watch for the deals they have for new customers. I'm really enjoying the lectures.

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  5. Same to you! Thank you for stopping by!

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  6. That sounds like the kindest, most productive day! You and Toby enjoyed a day out together, you got to see others enjoying their surroundings in their own way and you helped clean up the beach! Bravo!

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  7. Kind is a small word with a huge meaning!! What a good way to start a new year
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  8. Happy New Year to you! I like your resolution a lot. It's a great one.

    I resolved to work on learning new things. I've been in a rut so I'm taking an online dog training course, and I'm thinking about a creative photography course. It certainly will make the new year more interesting!

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