Beach, Life Narrative, and Habits

Let's get one thing straight right now, okay? I love the beach. I love the ocean and sand and wind and seagulls and wide spaces and hermit crabs and grass like waves and even sandy picnics. We spent today at a great little beach which Maren has renamed Crab Beach, since we found so many crab shells, hermit crabs, and even a whole, recently deceased crab with all its parts intact. Except for a missing eye, the absence of which Maren declared "So cool!"

I think part of what I love about the beach is the sense of being outside of time. I got seriously out of balance this winter and spring, but I've been working on getting back to being a human being. As I was reflecting last week, I was thinking about my life as a narrative and wondering: if I think of myself writing my story through my daily living, am I approaching my story as plot-driven or character-driven? I can so easily fall into moving from one thing to another and losing sight of what is most important and truly essential. Of course, it's much easier to say these things in the summer than in the midst of papers and exams.

Anyway, I've been trying to establish these two habits to keep things in balance, hoping I can keep them even when things get busy:

Running: I've scheduled in three times a week to lace up my shoes and go do this alone. This series of free mp3s will gradually work me up to running 5K; the program goes nice and slow, starting out with running 1 minute, then walking 1 ½ minutes, and so on. You should join me!

Praying: I've been using Pray As You Go, a daily podcast created by the British Jesuits, to help me get into a more regular rhythm of prayer and reflection. Just the right pace for my spirituality.

I hope you're enjoying the summer, too. Is there anything you've found really helpful for keeping yourself in balance and holding on to your habits?

PS - The kids and I went to the waterpark yesterday (along with Debie and the nephews) -- what a blast! I didn't expect to have so much fun, but it was a riot... and it only cost $9, since we had been given some free passes. Hooray for summer and free (or practically free) fun! Sorry we don't have pictures... a waterpark isn't quite the right place for a camera.