“Ready?” Kathy asked.
“Ready.”
“Okay, deep inhale, exhale, forward fold- AHHHHHHH!”
It was 7:00 am on Saturday morning and Kathy and I had just started yoga on the beach when a large wave washed up and over our mats soaking everything. We quickly dragged our things farther back, laughing hysterically.
“The ocean wants us to play with her! We should go swimming,” I said.
After a few sun salutations, we waded carefully into the water. The beach was our own with the exception of some seagulls and early risers walking peacefully along the shore. Not a soul was in the water. A woman sat contemplatively in an empty lifeguard chair wrapped in a light jacket.
Misjudging the impact zone on our way past the breakers, we got knocked down by a crashing wave. We emerged from the whitewater laughing, hair plastered to our faces, and covered in sand. There was laughter from somewhere else, too. I looked up and saw the woman in the lifeguard chair shaking her head and smiling wide at our giggling and misadventure.
That wave knocked the adults out of us and allowed room for our inner children to come out and play. Self-consciousness no longer existed. Any fear or trepidation washed away with the outgoing wave that showed us the worst that could happen. There was nowhere to be, nothing else to do. We were free from responsibility and obligation. Just two girlfriends relishing in the special joy that only a beach in summer can provide.
After a refreshing swim, we sat in the surf, chatting. Incoming waves washed up over our laps, filling our swimsuits with sand. The larger ones lifted us up, like hover crafts, and spun us around. Occasionally one hit us so hard we toppled to our sides and rolled in the surf like seashells, laughing all the while, spitting sand and saltwater.
At one point I was thrown onto my belly. I laid in the surf, elbows in the sand, laughing and pushing the hair out of my face. I noticed a couple walking hand in hand a few yards up laughing with me.
Kathy and I had a wonderful time. Had we been seven years old, I don’t think the scene would have looked any different, except for our sizes. A total bonus was that we were also bringing joy to others while we were at it. Something about two adult woman with a cumulative 73 years between them tumbling around in the surf as gracefully as a hunk of driftwood and a clump of seaweed made other people smile.
Joy is contagious. Your smile and laughter has the power to bring happiness to someone else. Whether acting your age or like a child, share the joy. And if you are acting your age, don’t be afraid to let your inner child out to play, for that could be the reason someone smiles today.
