Gone Fishing—to Respond Better to Life!

            NO, I HAVEN’T GONE FISHING. Not literally, anyway. I have gone beaching, though. To the Atlantic Ocean. I’ve been here since last week to learn how to be a better writer, to meet up with other writers who want to learn and improve their craft. And I’m also taking a couple of days after the conference to R and R. You know, get much-needed beach time. That’s a spiritual, physical and emotional necessity for someone who grew up almost on the water. Getting to the ocean—feeling the salt spray on my face, smelling those oceany smells, feeling the wet sand ooze between my toes, hearing the waves roll and crash onto the shore—lifts my spirits and invigorates me. The engineer says the change in me when I’m near or on the water is miraculous. Not surprising, though. My younger son read some research that said those people who grew up near the ocean were more likely to suffer depression if they moved inland, far away from the coast.

           

            I was so happy when he told me that! Now I know I’m not nuts, that I need my ocean fixes. When I talk to other coastal ex-pats who live here in the desert, they say the same thing. We’re a whiny, commiserating group. We understand each other. And, thankfully, the engineer is sympathetic. So, we’re soaking up the brine-laced air while we can. Two days of that after a writer’s conference that was nearly like drinking water through a fire hose (but tons of fun!) is just what the doctor ordered before we head back to the dry heat.

BETTER RESPONSE

           

            But I didn’t want to leave you without something to ponder this week, so I’ve included a link to one of Dr. Paul Tripp’s blog posts. This one explores how to avoid living in constant disappointment and bitterness and respond better to our environment. In this post he covers how to:

Live Honestly

Live Sensitively

Live Angrily

Live Joyfully, and

Live Hopefully

He offers some great self-reflective questions at the end of the short post that I think you’ll enjoy.

"Are You Too Happy With Your Life?"

http://mailchi.mp/paultrippministries/ww-7-12-2017-are-you-too-happy-with-your-life-603773?e=b109563336

And I’ll be back here next week, living off the fumes of ocean spray!

Blessings,

           

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photos courtesy of Google Images