The Smell after the Storm

Life is full of so many obstacles, sometimes it becomes impossible to navigate your way safely on a day-to-day basis. We experience one trauma, then another, which sends us crashing and spinning into something else and in turn we bounce from obstacle-to-obstacle like we’re trapped in our own life-size pinball machine.

When this happens and the moments of uplift are few and far between, how do we seek light? As Merlin once said to me; ‘I thought I saw light at the end of the tunnel, then I realised it was some bas**rd with a torch bringing me more work to do!’. Does light exist?

The last 6 months, plus recent developments and a setback in my rehab, have challenged me to find the answer to this. And I think I may have done.

Our imaginations are powerful tools. I had forgotten how to utilise mine. How to picture wonderful sights, sounds and smells, dream of exciting adventures and feel at peace. I’ve recently been losing myself in books and this has unlocked my mind once more.

Picture this….I’m sat at my desk at work, routinely working through the day to day tasks and wishing many things. I wish I had more money, 2 working legs, some food, a clean kitchen, no work and so on……..Suddenly, in a flash, the memory of sand running through my fingers came into my head. Dunno what made me think of this, or why? Warm, golden sand. Microscopic, fine particles, being poured from one hand to the next, my fingers digging into the sand, feeling the warmth of the surface and the coldness as I dig further…..memories of being on a beach, perhaps mid-surf session…..

The warm feeling this memory conjured up in my stomach, led me to seek further recollections that brought the same reaction. Memories that would give that fuzzy feeling inside and make you see how much easier the journey should and could be.

The smell of freshly cut grass, sat with the Captain in his parents garden. The empty streets of a dawn city centre, while me, the Boss and Merlin staggered home at 6am. The smell in the air after a heavy summer thunder storm whilst surfing in Croyde. The satisfaction of an ice cream on a hot day riding in the forest. A bottle of ice cold water when you are thirsty, the sound of waves crashing, early summer mornings, bathing in the warm shallows and so on and so on……

I guess my point is this. Life doesn’t need to be so tough and hard work. Light can and will be found in all the small moments. The simple but pleasurable moments are what brings us the light. All we have to do is……………..close out eyes and remember them.