Losing Yourself

To me there is in happiness an element of self-forgetfulness. You lose yourself in something outside yourself when you are happy; just as when you are desperately miserable you are intensely conscious of yourself, are a solid lump of ego weighing a ton.   --J.B. Priestley, 1894 – 1984

I just got back from the beach.  My mom has a condo there for a couple of months and her time is almost done and it is my first time there.  In my eyes, that is a sin--not just because I should spend more time with my mom, but because it is the beach, for Goddess' sake!

I got there and was in my swimsuit and on the sand with my book and a beach chair in record time.  I read an entire fluff book there on the beach.  Then I had friends come join me and we had an evening of drinking and being just silly.  They actually couldn't go to sleep because we were laughing too much.  How awesome is that?  This morning we meant to workout or walk or be productive.  But I sat around and read and ate cookies for breakfast instead.  Productivity will come later. 

There are times we take all of our lives too seriously and we need to have some "self-forgetfulness."  A drink, the sound of the beach, a good walk on the sand and a good laugh. 

I've had enough time of being a solid lump of ego weighing a ton.  And I'm sure I'll have more (my Monday morning is going to pack quite a punch of that, I'm sure), but for 24 hours, I was very grateful to just "lose myself."