Unconditional Love

I finally found the trail that my friend told me about. She said it’s an easy 2 hours hike to the lighthouse. “Don’t hike by yourself” A man coming the other way advised. “Why?” I asked. He said things about it being dangerous but I wasn’t convinced, especially that my friend did it and highly recommended it. So, off I went, up and down the path, through trees, gravel, rocks and meadows. I only needed to climb with all 4 limbs in one short section. Breathtaking vistas of the ocean and mountains.
When I finally got to the lighthouse, it was anticlimactic. Super noisy with a high pitch siren, trash all around, even the view was unimpressive. I miss the manually operated, well kept lighthouse in Dakar, Senegal. I walked a little further down the path to get away from the noise. Sat down on the edge of the cliff taking in the amazing views. Way down below, tucked between the giant rocks, a beautiful, serene tide pool kept calling my name. “I don’t see a way down. No one is around. If anything goes wrong, I’m history”, said my fear. A couple of tourists with a local guide appeared, took some pictures and as they were ready to leave, the guide asked them “Do you want to go down?” pointing to the tide pool. They said no and they all left. “So there must be a way down!”, said the little kid inside my head. I started descending towards the ocean but the path disappeared and the gravel ground was slippery. I chickened out and returned to my vista point. The tide pool kept calling my name. “Tomorrow, I’ll regret not going down”, the voice in my head said. I checked in with my heart and it really wanted to go. So down I went, very carefully. Took a different turn at the slippery part, climbed down a few rocks and found a way down…all the way! I was elated. Next stretch: should I get in the water? “I can’t come all the way down here and not at least try”, said the little kid again. Hiding behind a rock, I changed into my swimsuit. I wanted to go without, but my fear won this time. Very slowly and carefully I stepped into the beautiful tide pool, making sure I don’t slip. The water was super clear and refreshing. I sat there and melted in ecstatic bliss! Just me, sea creatures, ocean, rocks, waves and sky. The frothing ocean waves hit the rocks at the edge of the tide pool, turned into smooth swells and washed over my body. Natural infinity pool! Perfect magical moment!

It wasn’t long before my fear kicked back in and warned me about being late. I carefully walked out of the pool, dressed and hiked back feeling like I’m walking on clouds. I was high on life, feeling the breeze on my skin, the ground under my feet, taking it all in.
The next day I told a couple of friends about my experience. One said “you’re lucky. It’s dangerous out there. A tourist was mugged on this trail years ago. I never go there”. The other said “It’s a beautiful hike. I love that tide pool, I go there all the time”! They are both right.
That’s life; what we focus on, create our reality!

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