As part of my daily morning mind, body and spirit routine, I usually find myself at one of the many beautiful beaches in my area early enough to be in the water before the sun rises.
Ideally the timing is such that I am already out of the water, dried off, dressed and in a meditative posture facing the sun as it is rising.
At this time of the year (December) this is usually between 5:30 - 6:30am. Suffice to say it is typically still dark out when I arrive at the beach.
The thing that surprised me the most when this became a habit for me about two months ago, was that there were many other folks at the beach, facing east in anticipation of catching sunrise as well.
To clarify, it’s not like the beach is crowded as you might observe during noon on a hot summer day.
But, provided there is still enough lighting from the moon, you can see far down enough along the coast in both directions to find others occupying a space and doing something in that space.
Over the last two months I’ve noted, they are for the most part the same people and they go to the same spots at the same beaches if not daily, many are doing it several times per week.
I noticed a similar congregation of folks doing the same thing at the park where I do my body workouts in the morning, when I used to do these before my morning dips into the Atlantic ocean.
Some are pacing back and forth in a particular area, while others are walking or jogging around the track through sunrise every morning or at least several times per week.
In today’s entry I want to write about the folks at the beach every morning doing what it is they do. It appears to me at least a couple may be praying, some are meditating along the shore line but not in the water, others are ankle deep, while others are pacing back and forth in the same area, in or out of the water, similarly, ankle deep.
We are not close enough to each other to acknowledge, greet (or disturb) one another. Nor would I want it to be any other way. Keeping the Golden Rule in mind, I want to treat these folks the same as I want them to treat me..
So, how do I want them to treat me?
Well, I want them to treat me as if I am not there, to not factor into my experience in any way other than perhaps me writing about them as I share my thoughts and experience in this article.
However, at times, I do wonder…”who are these people and what do they get out of this daily morning experience or routine as I like to call it. It certainly seems like a spiritual moment for them, but that might be me projecting onto them what that experience is for me. Are they there to find peace, connect with their god or my God and Jesus Christ, meditate, a combination of the above or something entirely different?!
I don’t get to have that morning experience seven days per week, though that is the goal every week. However, over the last few months, I’ve managed to make at least three, occasionally four times a week. I usually substitute that time slot in the mornings with Bible study in my home office, if I am not able to make it to the beach on a particular day.
But I digress.
The other category of regulars that are part of that experience are the folks that are either walking (or jogging) up and down the coast line, many with a dog(s), some with a partner and others are solo. I’ll refer to this group as the transient group.
With the transients, some may acknowledge me if they are close enough with a head nod or a subtle hand gesture, but most don’t even look my way, as I am by this time seated someplace along the coast line in a meditative posture, usually with my eyes closed.
This morning routine is a relatively new configuration for me. That is to say, prior to my abrupt relocation to Florida from Pennsylvania, my morning routine was a very different model.
In Pennsylvania, being surrounded by the old forests of many different state parks and national parks, my morning routine involved trail hikes, runs or walks through the park trails.
Just as I've observed in Florida, there were regulars in that early morning experience in Pennsylvania as well. I had the athletes that were out every morning, rain, sleet or snow, the casual hikers, the dog walkers and a few that came out every morning with a small group.
