Set it Down

I’m writing this post from a beach weekend getaway with close friends, so I’ll keep this weeks’s post short and sweet.

It’s amazing how hours and hours can pass by at the beach. If you’re a beach lover, you know what I mean. Once you set up your camp the way you like it, you are set the for the day. This might sound simple, but there is a lot that goes into it. You make sure you’ve found the perfect ocean view…one that’s unobstructed. Then, you check to ensure that you are far enough away from other beach go-ers, so that you don’t hear their voices or their music, and so they aren’t disturbed by yours either.

There is a lot more that goes into a beach day. Snacks, your cooler, sunscreen, a portable speaker for those so inclined. I could go on. This post is not a beach-how to although I enjoy it so much that I think I could write that.

The point is: I love the beach. And loving the beach is not about anything “productive” as far as your career, fitness goals, or any other form self-improvement really. The beach is not about being important, feeling important, other people thinking you are important.

In fact, enjoying on the beach and gazing at the ocean does the exact opposite. It makes you feel small in the best possible way. The vastness of the water and expansive shore reminds you that there is more out there than you and whatever worries you brought with you to the ocean, and that more will be here long after you’ve left this earth too.

When I wrote Legacy of Learning, I hoped the book would help educators realize they could make a meaningful, lasting impact while also living really good lives. I still want that for all of us. I really want that for all of us.

I still have problems waiting for me when I return to work this week, worries, and the weight of responsibility. There is no reprieve per se. But we can create our own reprieves. That will look different for each of us, but we can choose this for ourselves.

And I wrote this today to simply say that I hope you do. You’re allowed to set down what is heavy knowing you will pick it back up.