It lived up to the hype!

"Understandably happy to be specific
When I'm snorkeled and finned
In the blue Pacific.
I admire the damsel fish
Feel terrific
As I float on the face
Of the blue Pacific."

Lyrics by from the song Blue Pacific by Michael Franks.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/blue-pacific-video-michael-franks.html

Alone and free, I felt completely at peace and at home, one with my liquid environs. Floating motionless, bathed in turquoise tranquility, not quite an intruder, uninvited yet included, I was nonetheless, for a moment or two, an aquatic participant in an choreographed display of color and movement and unity.  I saw true community, each fish, differing in size, hue and species moving in unison with the pulse and rhythm of the waves and current. Never did they seem worried by the change in direction or bubbles or jostling.  They belonged.  And I wish I did.

I love snorkeling!

There is something unearthly about it yet the sense of effortless weightlessness is very appealing to me.  I can't explain it. I feel completely at home in the surge of the ocean. All I could hear in my inner iPod was the song Blue Pacific by Michael Franks. Round and round it went.

Years ago, I had a lump under my ear.  My mother took me to the Cleveland Clinic and was told by the doctor that I should have been a fish and in my evolutionary process that lump was a malfunctioned gill.  My mother was fit to be tied! (It turned out to be a benign tumor.)  But maybe the doctor was onto something. Maybe he was not as crazy as we thought at the time.

Did I say that I love snorkeling?

Our just completed eastern Caribbean cruise which helped Deborah and myself celebrate our 20th year of marriage was an unqualified success. The ship was great, the food was plentiful and delicious, the cabin stewards friendly and welcoming, the islands beautiful and called to us. We went to the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas and Tortola in the Virgin Islands and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.  I was so amazed that many of the pictures I took looked liked shots in a travel magazine!  It was truly beautiful and lived up to what I had heard and seen on the Travel Channel.  One thing I truly believe is that I could live there year-round.  All I need is a chance to prove that I am up to the task!

While I would love to draw some pithy spiritual insight, and I could, I won't.  I'll just leave you with one picture...and they say it speaks a thousand words.

Wishing I was still Snorkeled and Finned!

Traveler

What's That In The Air?

                                          (Picture taken by my friend Larry Nielsen. )

Stepping outside morning as I was taking my daughter to an early morning babysitting job, I felt my senses assaulted.

But not in the usual way.

The usual way is a visceral blow to the entire body, a frontal attack of surrounding, sweating proportions. Humidity and heat are not my friend! The sudden sauna effect of Florida airspace. I am wilting again just at the memory!

Today was different.

Instantly, as I opened the front door, deliciously, my skin and senses were surrounded and caressed by cool, need I say, frigid (at least compared to the week's other mornings) bliss! Arrested for the moment, I stopped and breathed deeply. I think it has finally arrived, my friend, Autumn. Now before you think I have become delusional and unstable in thought (Yes, I know you already think that i am only stating the obvious), Autumn has arrived in Florida for the moment. I know, I know it will once again turn blisteringly hot and oppressive and sticky and sweaty and..... But just for the moment, the coolness wrapped like a garment around me and that little voice inside my head said:

"Why, Oh Why don't I live in Colorado?"

I was born for the mountains, lush pine trees, verdant fields and thinness of air. The flutter of hummingbirds wings in the dewy freshness of dawn's first light. The comforting aroma of hot, sweet coffee, my lone companion on the porch swing. The rosy hue, the tint of pure light welcomes me for another day above ground.

I think that Autumn holds such a place in my heart not because it conjures up memories past of school and football and hayrides and campfires but because it holds such promise for the months leading up to spring. Dark quiet cold mornings, wrapped in my blanket as I make my way to my prayer corner. Intimate times of communion and ancient prayers between my Creator and me. This season is the time to hunker down and recharge, refilling my soul with that which I will need for the journey. There seems to be more family time inside, deepening relationships around the dinner table and the game table. My time for catching up on the pile of books next to my bed, in my office, in the bathroom and on my iPod. Time for self reflection and dedication anew to the preparation for the coming season of Nativity and onward to the Resurrectional Hope in Pascha (Orthodox Easter).

As the seasons change around you, embrace them as a friend, dare I say, a lover. Hold tight for they will soon be past and only a memory. Daily Bread. That is what we are told to pray for. Each day holds promise and direction, grace and glory. Don't miss what you hold in your hand in anticipation of what your might be grasping at tomorrow.

Thinking about getting a sweater out!

Traveler