I took a solo day trip to the beach and had a wonderful time. I drove the Pacific Coast Highway. I hiked around Point Dume in Malibu. I smiled at some strangers and let them pass me. I brought water and taro chips. I read Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life and Others on the beach. I parked my car so that I could open the back and look at the ocean. I saw the waves on the backup camera. I wrote this when I was staring at the water:
I am sitting on a slope at the beach having just read "Story of Your Life" and the day has not cleared up. The sky is still white and murky. I looked up and sat up and became filled with a renewed sense of hearing. I could hear it all and appreciate it all. I sit in a sweater and the wind from the sea floods my lungs and it feels clean. I am happy to be alive here! Happy to be now.
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