Be Alive, Feel Alive
How is your breath stolen?
I don’t want life to happen to me. I want to create a life I love, a life that I want to thrive in and enjoy. It’s easy to fall into a routine, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that there is so much this life has to offer and I want to enjoy as much of it as I can, because I can. I decided to curate a list of things that I do that help me do more than just eat, sleep, work, repeat.
1. Watching the Sunrise
I only really do this on days off because I’ll often need a sleep after I get back. This has got to be the best way to start the day, especially if you live near a beach. There’s one beach on the east coast of O’ahu that I would watch the sunrise at all the time during my darkest days and it brought be so much tranquility and comfort. Sunrises are the start of a new day, a clean slate. Jumping in the ocean at sunrise is an added bonus. It’s got to be the best feeling in the world. I can’t imagine why Ariel wanted to leave the ocean, I wish I could stay in the water all the time.
2. Sitting in the Sun
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I like to do is drink a tall glass of water and sit outside on the front porch for a little while. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, feeling the sun on my face makes me feel refreshed. Feeling the rays on my face allows me to feel my freckles if that makes sense. The warmth from the sky connects my mind and body in just the right way. It’s better than a cup of coffee.
3. Running
I don’t run. I’m not going to get up at the crack of dawn and throw on my running shoes and run for 10 miles. I wish I could but that sounds horrendous. When I say running I don’t mean everyday (although that’s something I’d love to do when I have more time), but I mean more sporadically. Oftentimes I find myself on a hike, alone. It’s where I find the most peace in solitude. There are times when I’ll just break into a sprint, running through the jungle (bonus points if I’m barefoot). Sometimes I’ll leave my bag down and run in the wild and then come back for it later to get the most from the experience. It’s a great way to empty your mind and a great reminder to be thankful for your body and all it does for you.
4. Driving in the Early Morning
If you’re new here, I drive. A lot. In the last year I’ve driven over 20,000 miles by myself. Many drives, particularly those to National Parks or a cross country drive, I’ll leave very early in the morning. I prefer early morning driving to night driving. I’ll always choose a sunrise over a sunset. In the early mornings, usually between 3 and 5, there are hardly any cars on the road, it’s a different experience than regular roadtrips. I feel trapped in my car but in a good way, sort of a cozy way. I’ll listen to whisper songs and watch the sky go from nighttime black to pink to blue to daylight.
5. Journaling
It’s no secret I love to write. I sometimes say this is my online diary. There are many things though, that I won’t write on here. Things too personal or uninteresting. I love to journal, my black leather bound book comes with me wherever I go. When I’m feeling really down I’ll look back over my old entries and remind myself that no matter how bad it gets, it’ll never be as bad as the winter of ‘22. No one listens to you the way you listen to you. I write things down to remember. My brain likes to play tricks on me, it’s nice to have a book of reference to counteract it. Something else I do is record audio messages for myself. Truly… no one listens to you the way you listen to yourself. Trust me, it helps. I used to vent to my phone when fighting with my now ex, or crying because I was going though something. It helps, knowing how you felt in the moment. Revisiting your raw emotions.. it does help.
6. Going to the Beach at Night
The beach is always nice. There’s something so calming about watching waves flow in and out, never stopping. At night though, it just hits different. The moon and the stars are looking back at you. There are far less people and it’s quiet. Nice and quiet, perfect for sorting through your thoughts. Journaling on the beach at night under the moon is one of my favorite things because I feel connected to the waves and the words pour out of me. I feel like I can be honest with myself under the shadow of the night sky. Almost every time I look at the moon, I remember that men have walked on it. They’ve touched it. Anything’s possible.
7. Standing in the Rain
This one sounds cliche because it is, but have you ever stood in the rain? Like really stood there and just felt it? I did the other day when it was pouring. I was already soaked from walking from my car into my house, so I went out back and just let myself really feel it before coming inside to warm up and dry off. Rain is cleansing. Standing outside for a minute or two during the rain is something I want to do every time it rains from now on. I always want to feel like the Earth is washing everything away. All of the stress, the workplace drama, the bullsh*t. It’s all gone when you allow it be gone.
8. Making Lists
This one’s easy to do. I make lists all the time and it brings me so much joy. I’m so grateful for my youth. I’m grateful my best days are ahead of me (I hope!). My dreams are on paper and it’s up to me to make them happen. I make lists of where I want to live, hikes I want to do, baby names for my future children. I write about everything, I make lists of everything. I love staying organized. One of my favorite lists that I make it things I want to do with my family when I have one. At the moment, my family is a little broken, so I make lists of everything I’ll do with my husband and children when I have them. We’re going to have family dinners and spend holidays together. Doing this gives me hope for a better future :)
9. Dancing
So I won’t lie, I got this idea from Grey’s Anatomy, but holy hell it works! Meredith had a really good point when she said “just dance it out.” Putting on even one song and dancing in my room by myself (or in public depending on the vibe) makes me feel so much better. Right now I’m in a very New York mood so I’ll put on my NYC playlist and just jump around and shake it all off. All of the stress and tension just fades and I feel a million times better than I did.
10. Last but not least… Hiking
This is my absolute favorit thing to do in the whole world. Being on a mountain side is absolutely unmatched. Hiking miles and miles into lava fields or gaining hundreds and thousands of feet of elevation to see over a whole valley is the most amazing feeling. I get adrenaline highs and feel absolutely unstoppable. There’s a great sense of accomplishment that comes along with completing a hike, no matter how hard or easy it ending up being. I used to hike way more than I do now, but I can’t wait until I have more accessible mountains near me. I force myself to go hiking and spend as much time as I can outside because I have an able body and I want to use it in every way that I can before I can’t. My body is a blessing and I never want to change a thing.
Life is a blessing. A true blessing and I don’t want to squander a moment. I am so blessed to have access to all of these things near me. I am beyond grateful that I can do all of these things after a bad or stressful day.
I don’t want to wake up one day and be 30, 40… 50, just to look back and say “I wish.” I just want to do. Now. While I have the freedom and opportunity. I am creating the life I want to live and I’m so excited.
