Sometimes you find yourself in a place with time to pause and you remember the miracles of life. You find yourself in awe of the children you and your amazing mate have brought into the world. A young man about to give a presentation to his school. Focused on an example of living and working with artistry. Another, striding through his courageous shadow work which he rises to, day after day, with light in his eyes and a smile in his heart. Daring life forward.

I’m humbled by it.

By the revelation of bringing life into this, often, confusing world. By both of our children’s ability to navigate the complexities of the teenage world and stand in the light of what is important to them at this juncture. By what two people with love in their heart, with aligned desires and values, can create. By the mysterious and unpredictable journey two people can live and the magic it brings. By the overwhelming power that love can create such beautiful and unimaginable things. By love.

As I walked out in the pre-sunrise morning on the wide, deep sand beach, looking for a surf line up to paddle out in, I was thinking of these things. The waves came in and took no notice of the swelling of my heart. I wasn’t blind to the scattering of people who found their night’s rest on the patches of sand. Their worldly possessions heaped next to them. A guitar. A milk crate of treasures. A bag of tricks. We are all gathering our things: stories, ideas, hopes, dreams, pains, sorrows and loves, and collect them in compartments and carry them with us as we move in whatever direction our life offers.

I’m humbled by this, too.

By what we choose to collect, what we choose to let go and by which path we choose to walk upon forward. By the stories that we carry on with us, some of which were never true as others told them to us or we told them to ourselves. And by what the choosing of these seemingly small things that culminates a life of that choosing.

My inclination here is make sense of this through some moral thought or parting note. To put a tidy bow on it. But it’s not tidy. Whatever that point may be is not the point.

For me, today, it’s about my openness to allow myself to be in awe of it all and willing to witness the miracles that love brings.