Today is a day for living.
This morning, instead of switching on the computer and
checking, with forlorn hope, for emailed responses to my job applications, we
went out straight after breakfast.
Instead of trawling through the job sites and feeling increasingly miserable about the lack of suitable opportunities, we grabbed our cameras and went bird watching.
We went to nearby Nudgee Beach, with its boardwalk meandering through the mangroves.
Now we hoped, since it was still quite early in the morning, that we might spot lots of wading birds as they took advantage of the receding tide to hunt for breakfast. But perhaps the waders had other things to do this morning because there wasn’t a one to be seen.
Still, there was a multitude of Kingfishers, flashing blue-green in the dappled sunlight as they swooped about in search of prey. And we were serenaded by a host of tiny, drab little birds who made up for a lack of splendid plumage with their magnificent songs.
We watched the antics of a little Willy Wag-Tail, never still for a moment. We heard the raucous honk of the Ibis as they patrolled the mud flats.
We laughed at the tiny crabs which disappeared en-masse when they spotted us – the really amusing part being that we wouldn’t even have noticed them if they hadn’t moved. There were so many of things that it was as if large portions of the ground simply changed shape in a heartbeat.
We saw the little puffer fish cruising around close to the surface of the water, harvesting the bugs that were foolish enough to settle for a moment.
It was such a simple little outing and yet it was just lovely. I came home feeling refreshed and uplifted and with a new sense of resolve.
I have no way of knowing how long this state of being semi-unemployed will last. But, for too long now we seem to have speaking in terms of tomorrow – ‘when we get more work/more money’. We’ve spent so much energy straining after a future that may, or may not, even exist for us, when the truth of the matter is that our lives are happening RIGHT NOW!
I saw couples this morning, their caravans and Winnebago’s parked on the foreshore, while they lounged in deck chairs, fishing or reading. We might not be able to travel the countryside at our leisure, doing the tourist thing. But we certainly don’t have to stay at home and mope either.
There’s no work for tomorrow either. Another adventure perhaps?
©Lyn Murphy 2012
Instead of trawling through the job sites and feeling increasingly miserable about the lack of suitable opportunities, we grabbed our cameras and went bird watching.
We went to nearby Nudgee Beach, with its boardwalk meandering through the mangroves.
Now we hoped, since it was still quite early in the morning, that we might spot lots of wading birds as they took advantage of the receding tide to hunt for breakfast. But perhaps the waders had other things to do this morning because there wasn’t a one to be seen.
Still, there was a multitude of Kingfishers, flashing blue-green in the dappled sunlight as they swooped about in search of prey. And we were serenaded by a host of tiny, drab little birds who made up for a lack of splendid plumage with their magnificent songs.
We watched the antics of a little Willy Wag-Tail, never still for a moment. We heard the raucous honk of the Ibis as they patrolled the mud flats.
We laughed at the tiny crabs which disappeared en-masse when they spotted us – the really amusing part being that we wouldn’t even have noticed them if they hadn’t moved. There were so many of things that it was as if large portions of the ground simply changed shape in a heartbeat.
We saw the little puffer fish cruising around close to the surface of the water, harvesting the bugs that were foolish enough to settle for a moment.
It was such a simple little outing and yet it was just lovely. I came home feeling refreshed and uplifted and with a new sense of resolve.
I have no way of knowing how long this state of being semi-unemployed will last. But, for too long now we seem to have speaking in terms of tomorrow – ‘when we get more work/more money’. We’ve spent so much energy straining after a future that may, or may not, even exist for us, when the truth of the matter is that our lives are happening RIGHT NOW!
I saw couples this morning, their caravans and Winnebago’s parked on the foreshore, while they lounged in deck chairs, fishing or reading. We might not be able to travel the countryside at our leisure, doing the tourist thing. But we certainly don’t have to stay at home and mope either.
There’s no work for tomorrow either. Another adventure perhaps?
©Lyn Murphy 2012
1 comment:
Hi Lyn,
It's funny, I had similar thoughts this past week. When not job hunting or working as a part-time consultant, I try to keep busy by writing. This week, I had the urge to just get outside and do something else, so I went to a nearby state park just to get some fresh air and clear my head.
It is lovely to take a break from our worries. I'm glad you enjoyed your mini-adventure.
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