Simple as Salt

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen

I wouldn't say "cure," maybe "temporary relief." like ibuprofen is the temporary relief for aches and pains and can be considered a "cure," as long as taken every four hours, these three salty entities can temporarily fix issues - particularly those that are emotional.

have you ever craved the beach? the sand, the breeze, the waves, the ocean, the scent and sound? maybe it's more vivid for me because that's where i've been blessed to grow up. but when i need to go somewhere to think, and think hard...i go to the beach. and somehow, the peacefulness of it all fills me up and pushes out whatever demons i may be dealing with...at least for the time that i'm there and the few short hours that the feeling lingers after i leave.

usually when i lose that peace, i turn to tears. sometimes there's nothing left to do other than let emotions take over and let your crying fill in when words are lost. and while a couple tears tumbling down cheeks don't mean anything less, the kind of crying i'm referring to is real, aching, heartbreaking crying that leaves you utterly exhausted and broken. once you get there, and you pour all that out...there's a "calm after the storm" period. usually. where you can sit in your despair and exhaustion, focused on just being.

from there, i workout. i don't remember when i turned into that person...the person who turns to fitness when life throws them for a loop. not to say i don't like to work out when everything's going great too, but it does become more of an importance when i'm feeling lost. Working out gives me something else to focus on...it gives my brain a break from the trauma and let's me just focus on pushing my body to fight through pain or desire to quit. maybe if i work on that, it will make me stronger on the inside too. the endorphins that follow let you keep that high for a few hours after too.

i've skipped the first one this time - just sweat and tears. i miss my ocean. i go back and forth...and right now, the tears just seem to be worse and the working out just seems to be wearing me out. i wish there really was a cure for hurt like this. but all of these things make life simpler, at least for a little while. and as long as i'm craving that simplicity...i will continue to rely on my temporary reliefs. unless something better comes along.