Finding Your Inner Sunshine

October 16, 2024

Finding Your Inner Sunshine

Life can be a shitty business at times. I do not know anyone who makes it through clean. Some get pulled through the ringer more often than they feel is fair. Me included. But one thing I do believe is that no matter how beat up we feel, we are at our best when we are fighting. So, fight every single day.

As I walked around the harbor today, I saw two homeless people. One was sleeping in the bushes and the other was pushing everything she owned in a cart. I do not know their story nor am I here to judge, but what struck me was their will to live despite their circumstances.

Seeing them made me realize how lucky I am. I do not have very much but I live a happy and content life for the most part. Like most people, my life is cyclic, the good and bad periods come and go. But unfortunately, there are some souls out there who live in a constant battle with their demons. Whether it be because of substance abuse, mental health issues or a difficult life situation, we run into people every day who are fighting battles we know nothing about. So, try being kind if you can.

I am an introvert by nature. Although I find it easy to make friends, I require a lot of alone time. I have a pack of great friends who I adore and have brought much joy to my life. But to be honest, during difficult days I tend to cut off the outside world and just read books for days. And if I am not careful, I can go too far. I must remind myself that everything good in life is necessary whether we are feeling it or not. Family, friends, community, work, hobbies, outdoors, and adventure is all great medicine. Living a balanced life is the key. And if you stop searching for peace and joy, you begin to die.

Life is already short. It is especially short for me as I am in the last quarter of my life. So, I try not to waste too much of my time with folks I do not love. Just the same, I try to be good to all people. And I let the assholes be assholes. I am happier and sleep much better that way.

I realize that one day I will die and there is nothing worse than that. Life gets hard, it gets sad… but we must push through. Because the good will come and we will find peace again if we keep fighting. The truth of life is that we are the sum of our actions, our chosen environment, our loves, and happiness. We build ourselves.

And however, we choose to do build our own life is up to us. But we must try to never lose our perspective. We must try to never sabotage ourselves. There are enough people out there that will do it for us. Do not give any of those bastards’ ammunition.

And just know I am rooting for all of you. Stay alive and fight my friends. Peace and love always.

I spent a couple of days off of the bike to see and do some non touristy things that I had on my bucket list. That included taking time to sit and reflect as well. Hope you enjoy the pics and commentary.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. I happened to still be there at sunset and choked back tears when Taps began playing on the loudspeaker. We owe so much to our veterans.

Cabrillo National Monument,

From Cabrillo National Monument, you can spot North Island Naval Air Station to the east, known as the birthplace of Naval Aviation. Looking towards Coronado, the SEAL training site, you catch sight of Navy submarines, ships, helicopters, and jets. And from the southeast, you can even see Mexico from the park.

Sl0t Canyon Trail

Slot Canyon Trail is a short but dramatic slot canyon trail tucked into the coastal bluffs near San Diego's Solana Beach hamlet.in Solana Beach

Verbatim Books

I am an absolute book nerd. And this bookstore tops my list. Verbatim Books in North Park is a primarily secondhand bookstore with a selection of over 50,000 gently loved and antiquarian books. It also carries new zines, and eclectic small press titles. Awesome way to spend a Sunday morning.