Letting pebbles go

Yesterday my wife and I sat out on the pebble beach in Grand Marais. The sun was bright, the sky was clear. I watched as throngs of people came down to the water's edge and skipped stones. Geese wandered through the crowd like street performers looking for handouts.

I talked about pebbles hitting me. Here I was on a pebble beach not picking one of them up. While others picked them up, I let them lay there under my feet.

It is important to move away from those annoying pebbles and gain some perspective. This weekend, I moved out of range, just for a while from the trajectory of the pebbles and I felt relief. It allowed me to look at new ways of handling the pebbles more effectively, and which ones I can keep from having thrown at me.

I was at peace. I did nothing; my thoughts hit me like the bugs on my windshield from the trip up here. Processing was optional and I let life drift me along. It felt good, it felt healing, and I could feel stress leaving me

I could sit there and watch others heave their pebbles into the water and not pick up even one.

Freedom!