The fusion of red, pink, orange, and blue sat as a canvas in the sky directly above sailboats that glided quietly on the softly-flowing water. A boat with lively music playing at top volume passed by in the channel and skaters swiveled their boards on the nearby road. Bikers conversed and laughed loudly as they breezed through the summer air and the last few travelers who’d arrived for the weekend straggled playfully by their cars. The road-faring adventurists sat atop their woody-inspired, surf-themed conversion bus to soak every component of the surrounding environment into their souls just as I was doing while Tynley strolled along with pep in her step beside me.
The entire world had recently stopped in a somewhat united fashion and Tyn and I had gotten back out there in the many beautiful days before this one. This idea that we should stop in our tracks, while necessary, had also become a thought my mind needed to sit with and then adjust a bit using all of the right rules of being a proper citizen and at the same time not stopping the goal Tynley and I have of seizing every moment in the life we’ve been given.
I had realized I needed to create change for us:
I had begun grabbing a water bottle for her long tongue to slurp from and a dry bag full of outdoor accessories for my shoulder again.
We had begun intentionally deciding to save that amazing snuggling we’d been doing daily for our quiet moments of rest instead.
We had begun walking out the door toward life again.
As we were adjusting to life anew, I quickly realized Tynley isn’t a fan of social distancing. Her definitive thoughts were, “Yeeeah, I’m not doing that. We must get back out there.” I liked her view on experiencing life to the max and we learned to work with it, mixing in the human rules of living respectfully in society.
We began to remember that conversations with others in nearby range from a board on the water can be very engaging as the cooling water trickles around us, the pleasant sun reviving both our bodies and spirit and the laughter, accord, and interactions rejuvenating our being.
We began to remember that a walk blanketed with smiles from others, humans and canines alike, allows us to connect with those we’re placed on the earth with to support one another, strong as we may be on our own.
We began to remember that cuisine and hydration from the heat are best enjoyed in fellowship, and this can still happen while practicing spatial awareness.
We began to remember that the world we were given should be collectively explored by four paws and two feet regularly.
This glorious sunset sitting that evening in the same location it does roughly every 24 hours, each time as an awe-inspiring and brand-new canopy, was our reminder that we were doing it right once more. As Tynley contentedly cut her eyes up at me with a smile on her face as she does during every walk we take together, she seemed to be sharing my thought that there is only one way to live and that is fully.