Today we are going to be embarking on a walk through nature,
So you can decompress and find the stillness of the present moment.
You begin your walk by stepping across the sand dunes.
Every step you take,
Your feet buries itself slowly into the sand.
Not too deep,
So it's entirely immersing your foot,
But just enough so you are leaving small footprints with every step that you take.
You walk up the edge of a sandy bank and at the very top of the bank you have a view of the ocean.
It's a cloudy day,
But there's a light breeze and it's not too cold,
And you can see the ripples of the waves,
Where the slight breeze is just moving it slowly towards the shoreline.
There are seagulls flying overhead and people walking their dogs on the beach.
You stop here for a moment and take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
You do this for a few times and every time you take a deep breath in you can feel the cold refreshing air of the seaside entering your lungs and as you release the air you can feel how the air has been warmed by your lungs.
Every breath you take is so refreshing.
Every breath you take you feel more and more present in the moment.
You are already feeling more at peace than what you were a couple of minutes ago.
You are grateful for this wonderful view and you say out loud thank you.
As you do so you then continue your walk and you notice that there is a coastal path with an arrow pointing towards a direction,
So you decide to follow this coastal path.
The path takes you through a hedged area to the edge of a cliffside where you begin ascending onto the edge of a cliff.
As you get to the top of the cliff you once again have another magnificent view of the coastline below you.
You have a better view of people walking their dogs on the beach having a good time.
This puts a smile on your face knowing that everyone is here for the sakes of enjoyment,
For the sakes of decompressing,
For the sakes of appreciating this wonderful coastline.
You sharpen your focus and look a little bit further out to sea where the waves are a little bit bigger and you notice that there is a surfer out there all on his own.
This makes you think about how this surfer is confident,
Capable,
Knows what he is doing and you appreciate the skills that he has built over time.
This makes you think about your life,
This makes you think about how with persistence and hard work you can literally create a skill that you are proud of.
What might that be?
Contemplate on this for a minute,
What skills would you like to develop?
You finish your moment of contemplation and continue the walk along the coast path.
It takes you by a campsite which is relatively busy.
There are many tourists that flock to this site to appreciate the coastline just as you are doing right now.
You can hear laughter and you can hear singing in the bar.
This is connection,
This is human connection happening in this very moment and you realise that when people come together they create something beautiful,
They become something special.
You walk past the campsite and the cliff edge slowly begins to descend and turn around a bend.
This part of the cliff edge has eroded over time and it has created a small cove and you notice on the edge of the cliffs are nests of seagulls,
Loads of nests of seagulls.
There are young seagulls,
Older seagulls,
Some are flying in the air,
Some are safely nested away in small coves within the cliff.
They're going about their everyday life.
You walk closer to the cliff where there is a barrier preventing you from falling over and you look even more closely into the cove where the seagulls are and you notice that some of the seagulls are calling to their parents.
The seagulls that are flying in the air are doing routine circles going out towards the ocean finding food and bringing them back to their young ones.
Some of the seagulls are circling around your head,
They're flying out towards the beach and then coming back and flying around your head again and you wonder why they're doing this and you realize that they're actually protecting their nests in this moment.
They're not getting too close but close enough for you to be able to view their magnificence.
They soar so gracefully through the sky allowing the wind to take them naturally where they need to go,
Completely effortlessly.
They make it look so easy and they're so majestic in this moment.
You watch them as they fly around and around and around and it just is a graceful moment for you to view and you sit here for a moment just watching the seagulls fly effortlessly with the wind.
You think for a moment how protective these seagulls are over their young and it makes you contemplate life,
How every form of life creates a new form of life and it has a natural instinct to protect that smaller form of life that it has created.
This is the way of life,
We are here for one another.
We are here to nurture one another,
To grow together,
To become something together.
Just as these seagulls have become a community in the cliffside,
We create our own communities and grow and learn together.
You think about all the communities that you have been a part of in your life and you sit here in a moment of appreciation just remembering some of those good times.
You take one deep breath again in through your nose and out through your mouth.
You say thank you out loud for this moment and you continue your walk along the cliffside.
Eventually after walking a small way on the path you notice that there is a bench.
This bench is on the edge of the cliffside once again looking over the beach and you decide to take a seat.
There is an inscription,
A plaque that has been left on this bench.
It is a memorial bench for someone who passed away who used to appreciate this very view that you are appreciating now.
It makes you realize how fleeting life is and how important it is to appreciate every moment you get.
You sit here again looking down at the beach,
Watching the waves slowly wash into the shore,
Watching the people walking their dogs,
Noticing the seagulls effortlessly flying with the wind above you,
Noticing the clouds above your head,
Every color,
Every sensation,
Noticing every moment.
You sit here just appreciating the view.
You take one final look around you,
Say thank you out loud,
Take a final breath in through your nose and out through your mouth and once again open your eyes and become aware of your surroundings.
Take this peace with you into the rest of the day.
Take your contemplation with you into the rest of the day.
Take your appreciation with you into the rest of the day.
Well done for taking part in this meditation and giving yourself this time to decompress.
