Blog Archives - A Cottage by the Sea

A glitch and then peace~

2/28/2012

At the moment I am feeling more peace than ever before at the cottage. I just finished eating a late lunch of English muffins and fried eggs (cooked with just a tad of bacon fat) while sitting on the deck and gazing out at my every-day-but-always-incredible view.
    The morning started out fine, but then there was a little glitch, and maybe it was the glitch that sealed the peace and freedom that I’m feeling now. My early morning ritual followed the usual--up early, coffee and sticky bun, reading, meditating, watching and feeling the sunrise, checking email, posting the daily quote.
    Then the glitch. Instead of my walk on the beach I decided to be a walk-in at the local yoga studio. “Not a good idea, Bobs,” I told myself as I walked out before the session was over. (There were some logistical reasons why it didn’t work out, but those aren’t important here.)
     As I drove “home” to the cottage my conversation-with-self continued. “You are not here to lead the life you have at home. You come here for the energy of solitude, silence and simplicity. I can’t believe that you even considered interrupting that energy by driving (I walk on the beach) to a room over 100 degrees (I keep the cottage at 60) to be with twenty (I invite very few to the cottage) people you don’t know. What were you thinking.”
    So, you ask, what has made this day the most peaceful cottage day yet? My yoga glitch helped me settle into the sacredness, the awesomeness of silence, solitude and simplicity. I feel it’s freedom; no struggle. I’m going to post this and go walk the beach.

Not complaining~

2/27/2012

“Not complaining, “ was the sound bite today from my buddies working on the sewer and drains on the way to the beach. The weather has been phenomenal for outside jobs, particularly for these men standing and directing traffic.

    How easy it is to complain about the weather; we do it all the time when it obstructs our plans—a picnic, a flight, driving just about anywhere, skiing or surfing. I’m not talking about natural disasters; I’m talking about what I want on a given day for my plans. And that makes sense; why not wish for just the right weather to support what we want to do?

    But how can we get to a place were ‘not complaining’ becomes our mantra for whatever kind of weather appears? Or more to the point, how can we stop thinking about complaining as even a possibility. The weather is what it is.

     Back to the men on the road. I confess, I got off on a tangent. These men were not even thinking of complaining. “Not complaining” was their way of expressing gratitude.

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The sacredness of silence, solitude and simplicity~

2/24/2012

The 3S’s take on a different feel at home when pet sitting is involved. It’s easy to consider our son’s little dog and medium-sized cat to be the picks of the litter, but there is less silence with the hungry meow of the cat, less solitude with the dog asleep at my feet, and less simplicity with the morning preparation of a gourmet meal for each.

Most of life is filled with happenings such as these; I don’t think of them as distractions. But when I am able to create some kind of ‘cottage’ situation for myself, something as normal as a week of pet sitting alerts me to how sacred silence, solitude and simplicity can be.

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

2/23/2012

I just finished listening to The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Over the years, those of us searching for our ‘treasure’ have probably read it several times. For me, it is one of those books worth reading/hearing every so often because it affirms my longing to discover my personal legacy and to take the action to fulfill it. I know I don’t have to go the pyramids to find my treasure or to take me to the soul of the world. Seems that right now the cottage, and my life at home, offers what I need.

Energy on the beach~

2/21/2012

There was great energy on the beach this morning, which I took in and mixed with mine. Now, as I sit here on the deck, one of my perennial two-part question comes to mind again: What kind of energy is in a given situation and what kind of energy do I bring to it? Sure, some situations are toxic, as in war; or sad, as in an automobile accident. Some are joyful, as in a wedding; or exhilarating, as on this sunny day. But why is it that on some days, like today, I felt positive energy, whereas last week I was hearing noise and combating a certain amount of agitation?
Today felt quiet and calm, but not much had changed. The sewer construction is still going on. Walking by the backhoe today, the driver stopped and called out, “Take your time; we all have plenty of it.” Once on the beach I saw my farmer friend from last year who was, once again, gathering seaweed to fertilize his garden. “I get huge tomatoes, and I’m helping clear the beach.” And then I met Dugan and his young mistress, who had adopted him Texas a year ago. “I knew I would keep him the moment I saw his face,” she explained while giving him a doggie treat.
I’d have to say that there is always good energy on the beach. Maybe I felt today it because in my silence, solitude and simplicity, I made contact with others.

The Peace Abbey~

2/19/2012

Yesterday I visited the Peace Abbey in Sherborn. www.peaceabbey.org What a peaceful, pastoral space, and yet, as suggested in a recent posting on the site, the abbey may be moving,.

As the Peace Abbey prepares to relocate to a university in Boston this summer, we stay open to the possibility of a benefactor coming forward so we can remain in Sherborn. However, our animals in sanctuary are being moved now before snow arrives, to be loved and cared for at Maple Farm Sanctuary in Mendon, MA.

It is said that we can find peace anywhere, but I’d sure like to keep finding it at my newly discovered Peace Abbey.

Beach noise~

2/16/2012

I didn’t walk to my beach today; I went in the opposite direction. I didn’t want to hear all that noise, that noise from the trucks working on the new sewer pipes or the noise accompanying the construction of two new houses along my route. I can accept the sewer pipe project but I can’t believe that two big houses are being built right on the water, blocking the view of two little bungalows that have been waterfront property for years. I wonder what it’s like for the owners of those little places? Are they building a bigger house on their own land? Did they sell the land for a handsome price? Or did they wake up one morning, shocked to see their view blocked by new construction?
Today I wanted to avoid all that noise--noise as in ugly and in greed. And I did. I found a little inlet beach with sand, rocks, seaweed and ducks. Simple and silent.

Simply a job~

2/15/2012

       When my life gets too simple up here in the cottage, and I can’t think of anything to blog about, I head for the beach. Even the simple, every day happenings are food * for the soul, as I discovered today. New sewer pipes are being laid under the road between the two beaches where I walk, and for the last week or two there has been a detour-- for vehicles, but not for my two feet. At each end traffic policemen hold signs that say ‘Stop’. My mind gets chatting as I walk along: Must be a boring job or do they practice being in the Now?   Well, the weather is warm and there’s no snow.
      On and on I go, making up ‘stuff’, all the while acknowledging that I have zero experience with this kind of job. I decide to stop to talk with one of the men and this is what I get: I’ve been doing this for eight year and it doesn’t get boring. There’s enough going on and you never know when an ambulance might need to get through… I’ll take this weather any day… And besides, I’m lucky to have work in the winter.
      Here I am, grateful for a day with no obligations, and this man is grateful for a job. My goodness, simplicity can be complex?

    * I added my Comfort Beef Stew to ‘Comfort Food’ in ‘Cottage Companions’.

Keeping life simple~

2/13/2012

I just wrote about the beef stew I made today, and then, voila, I somehow deleted it. Well, maybe I'll do a rewrite tomorrow, but tonight I'm going to keep my life simple and just enjoy my dinner.

Choosing health~

2/11/2012

A few months ago I decided to ‘choose’ to be healthy. Sounds rather strange, doesn’t it? I mean, who do I think I am anyway, choosing health? Don’t we all want that? However, this doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped eating junk food, or that I exercise consistently. I still like the choice, but most of all, I like the idea that I’ve chosen.

Along with my walks on the beach when I’m at the cottage, comes my effort at yoga when I’m home. I go to a local studio that has hot yoga, and do my best to attend the Bikram Yoga sessions. For an hour and half, a trainer verbally leads us through a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Room temperature is about 105 degrees; the humidity 40%. It is a workout, inside out, “from skin to bones,” and although not simple, I feel a sense of simplicity in knowing the routine will be the same each day.

Choosing health and going to yoga today made it a little easier to say no to junk food.