I am off kilter today. My spirit seems half a step behind whatever my body is doing. Everything is slightly out of focus. I go through all of my morning routines but it all seems a bit off balance. Cobwebs fill my head and my heart seems soggy. I ask myself where this comes from.
The coffee at the Breakfast Club helps but I am quiet and my mind is adrift and I can’t seem to reel it back in. The thoughts are all cloudy.
Back home, Goddess is excited and jumps up on me demanding her walk. Outside it is steamy and she doesn’t want to take our normal route. She pulls me in the opposite direction and there is no resetting the course. So she drags me away from the peacefulness of the Back River to the construction site a couple of blocks away. It is dirty and loud. She seems to like it.
When she finally allows me to get her back inside, I do the pushups and stretches then start my run. My legs move in slow motion. The sweat comes quickly. None of the music on my I-Pod is satisfying so I keep hitting the forward button searching for something to match my mood or to inspire me, but nothing comes. I ask myself why I put these songs on it.
Then I spy Deborah, one of the waitress’ at Fannies, out walking her dogs. “Morning Micheal!” she says with a big smile.
I wave and continue to lumber in the forward direction. A Barry Manilow song plays in my ears. Really? I have Barry Manilow on my I-Pod. Jesus!
Then I turn to head for the sand dunes and there is Sam Adams, sitting in a golf cart with his dog. Long shoulder length hair, a perpetual smile, a guitar player and one of the sponsors of Tybee’s bar Church, Sam is one of the coolest people that I know.
“Morning Brother!” he beams and we slap hands as I jog by.
Then I burst out onto the beach at the mouth of the Back River. Little Tybee is green and luscious. The ocean is flat and the sun dances on it. A breeze blows in my face and I am mesmerized by the majesty of it all. I feel small in the beauty of God’s creation.
A tent is set up for a vacationing family and there are numerous beach chairs but only one is occupied by a father who is sipping coffee and watching the sea. He smiles broadly when he sees me and waves. We do not know one another but he is happy and content and celebratory and I am moved by this. I wave back.
Tony Orlando and Dawn play in my ears! “Christ!” I say out loud. Someone has broken into my I-Pod and littered it with crap.
Then there are these two old men fishing. They are fully clothed and have red bandanas tied around their necks. They nod and smile broadly at me. I return the nod and continue my lumbering in the direction of home.
As soon as I open the door Goddess is laying on the landing waiting on me. Excitedly she jumps up and begins licking me. Grabbing a gator-aid, she and I take another walk as I cool down. I am glad the run is over. This time she leads me to Shirley’s sad little holy dock.
The tide is high and the marsh is green and the sky is a brilliant blue. I sit on the end of the dock and become a part of it all. Goddess licks me before lying down beside me. She wants to be a part of it too.
George Winston’s “Variations on the Kanon by Pachelbel” plays softly in my ear. It is a perfect and peaceful moment.
And while I am slightly off today, the world is its magnificent self and it embraces me for who I am regardless of how I feel today. And good karma and best wishes have already been thrown my way by friends and strangers alike. And I smile as my day begins, thankful of what I have.
