“There is only one thing a writer can write about: what
is in front of his senses at the moment of writing... I am a recording
instrument...” -William S. Burroughs “Naked Lunch”
I know I must record what I am seeing…
It is a 78 degree, gorgeous day on a Saturday in
September. The sun is hot but there is a fresh feel to the air that comes in the
fall.
The water is surprisingly warm and a flock of children
play beneath me in the sea. The waves crash and are spotted with surfers in
bright colored wet suits, gliding on boards like a magic carpet ride.
I sit high on this vantage point where I can see it all,
taking the place of NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY.
Some of the older kids are still riding the waves on
this majestic day in southern Cali, while the smaller ones have retreated to
the tide pools that have revealed themselves as the tide makes its way out to
sea. There is a scurry of activity as they are busy investigating sea slugs and
starfish and bright red fighting crabs.
The air is growing colder as the sun hides behind the
hills. Right on cue, I smell the start of a bonfire being built below me in
the sand. I hear a child crying about the clothes his mother packed for him to
change into. She doesn’t want to argue (I can relate) and tells him he doesn’t
have to wear them, so he takes this quite literally and happily runs off in his
birthday suit. Minutes later he returns with a few of the flock that had been
frolicking earlier, they too are now naked.
I should mention that these kids are between the ages of
1 to 6, just as a precursor to what happens next.
The fire is keeping them warm, when a little girl around 4
announces that she is hungry, and gathers them all. The mom begins to pull out
snacks as the kids swarm her like a bunch of starving seagulls. She whistles,
they are at attention; she asks them to all sit down as she prepares the food.
A couple approaches the bonfire and tells the Mother
that she should put clothes on the kids… I may add that there are now
approximately 9 children all sitting around the fire (a few of my kids
included) in various stages of undress...
The mother is taken by surprise and answers, “I don’t
think that is any of your business…” and continues passing out snacks.
The couple does not budge and continues about how it is
not appropriate… The Mother turns to them and without a beat removes her
sweatshirt, uncovering a bathing suit and says, “this is a private beach…” as
she removes her top.
Her son looks up and says, “Look everyone Mommy is
joining our Naked Lunch…”
I laugh out loud for so many reasons and give my friend
a thumbs up from above.
The couple, now speechless, shook their heads and continued
their walk down the beach.
I stand high on my perch, taking it all in… My friend
looks up and smiles as she quickly puts her sweatshirt back on, its now 4:30 and
getting cold. The kids are never cold as they sit unphased and continue their snack
time aka geniously proclaimed “naked lunch”.
I give my friend a round of applause that is joined by a
few others who saw what had occurred.
I am so inspired by my friends’
bold choice in this situation. It’s such a great reminder that no matter what
the situation, we choose our reaction. Every
moment we are presented with situations that allow us to make choices. It is
all a matter of perception and we all view the world through individual
filters. We each have
the ability to choose how we perceive any event in our life. It is up to us to exercise
this power of choice in every circumstance, every day of our life.
I see in this moment so
clearly the difference between the people who "get it" and have a
strategy to create the results they want - and those like the couple, who don't
and just complain and are stuck in their own way.
The big kids are now all out
of the water and have taken refuge by the fire. I climb down off my rock to
join them and am overcome with a feeling of freedom. Is it the sea… or this spot? Really I think it’s the affect
of my friend’s bold move. Like Robert Frost said, “Freedom lies in being bold.”
