Beaches & Sunsets

This week is the one week during the summer when I steal away with my daughter to Port Elgin, Ontario, located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. If you've been following my blog posts you know that this is a place I have come to pretty much every summer since I was a child.

As I looked across the lake from the beach the other day, the thought occurred to me that, although I have visited the beaches of Mexico numerous times over the past couple of years, as well as many other beaches throughout the Caribbean, I still find this place beautiful. In fact, I think it may look especially beautiful now. Because I have become so accustomed to the beaches of Mexico, I notice the differences between the two places more. I looked across the shoreline and noticed how green the trees were against the colours of the beach and water. The sand is a dark brown and compact. Pieces of driftwood are scattered along the sand, as well as pieces of green seaweed, large rocks and tiny shells. There's a real wilderness feel here that is unique and beautiful all on its own.

There's a winding road (and now a bike path!) that runs along the beach, pretty much from Port Elgin to Southampton. It's the prettiest drive, although my eyes are naturally drawn to the dark blue and turquoise water when they should be on the road. My daughter and I stopped for a picnic lunch one day and the view was breathtaking.

Of course, for any of you who are familiar with this area, residents pride themselves in what they claim are the best sunsets anywhere. In fact, a crowd will gather each night at the marina in Port Elgin or the end of the main street in Southampton that leads down to the lake to watch nature put on her show. Camera's click away at the fiery display, and often times a round a of applause follows.

Then, turning to walk back, the moon.

It's good to be back.

A New Month, A New Beginning

There are a couple of people I see every once in a while and every time I see them, the conversation goes exactly like this: "Hi Wendy! You look great, as usual." Let me emphasize here - they do not say "Hi Wendy! You look great, as usual!!" Instead, they say it in a way that makes me think what they're really thinking is, "Hey Wendy, when are you going to start falling apart?" Now before you stop reading, I promise, this is not a post on how good I look. In fact, after a summer diet of peanut butter chocolate ice cream and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and after shopping for bikinis today (hint: don't do that), looking good is really not top of mind.

The conversation continues, in the same way every time. Them: "What do you do to keep in shape?" Me: "Run." And the questions start - "Where do you run, how far do you run, when do you have the time to run???" Then the questions start about food. Them: "What do you eat, when do you eat, how much do you eat, do you eat this, do you eat that???" I can almost see them computing how much they would need to exercise, how much they would need to eat or not eat, to see change. The funny thing is, we are all the same.

We all want to put in the least amount of effort, but gain the maximum, most outstanding results.

Even funnier, as reasonable people, we know what we put into something will determine what we get out of it, yet we keep putting in the bare minimum, hoping for better results each time.

What if we tried something different? What if we actually put in a little more effort or tried a little harder in accomplishing our goals? Even a little bit?

What if I were to add one kilometre to my running route every week? What if I decided to stop eating meat for one month, trying out some healthier, alternative protein sources? What if I were to cut junk food from my diet for the next month? What if, within one month's time, I were to share with ten people what it is I want to do with my life? What would those results look like, if I put in just a little more effort?

Today is August 2nd. It's a new month, a new beginning. Where can you put in a little more effort, how can you push a little harder, or give a little more attention to this month? And then.. what will those results look like?