The Magical Healing Properties of Water

A little time at the ocean is a magical recharge for heart and soul!

There I was, freezing cold, shivering in the March wind. Feet covered in water, nothing but blue in the sightline ahead. And WHOOSH, a giant wave swept me off my feet. I loved it!

You see, there I was, in the ocean water of Corona Del Mar State Park in Newport Beach, California, literally questioning every life choice I have made to this very point. It all came full circle in one quick moment—the wind, the water, the waves, the board in my hand, the sun, the surf, the PEOPLE. They say the salt air of the ocean can heal any wound. Right they are. It's magic!

Imagine with me, if you will: The great unknown. A giant body of water ahead. Empty. Lifeless. And then you hear it—the pounding of the waves. A seagull in the distance.

I'm reminded of a song by The Talking Heads (featuring David Byrne) called 'Once in a Lifetime.' It played on the radio on my way to the beach. This song, featured in one of my favorite life-changing movies, 'Down and Out in Beverly Hills,' starring Willem Dafoe, encapsulates the futility of not being happy with the things you have. In this song link, David Bryne describes the following:

"Like trying to remove the water at the bottom of the ocean, there's no way to stop life from moving on. The forces of nature (like the ocean) keep you moving almost without your conscious effort - like a ventriloquist moving a puppet." link

The water, I am convinced, is full of magnets. Think about it! When you man a table at a benefit fair, when you meet a stranger over coffee, when you take a dip in the ocean at the beach... it all ties in... to WATER. The magnets recharge us; they energize! The sun, the sand, the surf, it has power! Once you touch the water, it becomes a part of you, and you become a part of it! Human beings, by our very nature, are described to be 60% water. Without it, we will die. Water provides essential life, and therefore, we MUST be attracted to it, to require it for our being, and to be recharged!

I spent the afternoon at CDM with my boogie board (about half the size of a surfboard). And yes, magic DID happen. I was recharged, in body and in spirit.

A morning spent on LinkedIn, writing an article, and then AGAIN, applying, applying, applying for the next role in my future. Something seems different this time. I had committed to myself that this weekend would be different, that I would make a change and return once again to the ocean. I'd not been back to this water in some time. I passed the board in the garage for weeks, for MONTHS. "One day" I said. And one day never came. Until today.

When I first moved here 9 years ago, the morning of my first day of work, the thing I did before work was get out to Venice Beach, to the ocean. At the end of the pier, in a shack off to the side, next to the Ferris Wheel, is a monument to those like me: weary travelers who'd followed Route 66 from the start in Chicago over a thousand miles to the end, here in California. I'd heard the call and been drawn to the ocean from the shores of Lake Michigan. And that morning, I was in this new place I now call home.

I spent about an hour in that water. Was it cold? YES. Was it windy? MAYBE. Would I do it all again in a heartbeat? ABSOLUTELY! Dear CDM---I'll be back---SOON, I promise!

I leave you, dear reader, with this piece of advice: The water, the ocean, will energize and recharge you like nothing else in this world. When you get the next chance to visit, please do. The rewards are great and pay dividends tenfold.