A Brief Change of Scenery

Published April 19, 2009 @ 10:17AM PT

jagged, enormous rocks in both the foreground and background, between them is sand and water, above them is sky; it is the beach at oceanside oregon Amidst the news reading, the science reading, the advocating, the policy making, and the rallies against injustice, sometimes there can be--no, there must be--a moment of quiet, a break-point in the urgency. Time for something to balance the rage. Time for something that is done for no reason other than because it brings joy.

Yesterday Elesia and I took a retreat from the city to work on our upcoming presentation at the Oregon Disability Megaconference (for the curious, we're presenting on self-advocacy for people, particularly autistic and deaf, who use alternative forms of communication). We drove an hour and a half to Oceanside and bee-lined, not for the benches where we could have spread out our pens and notes and gotten down to serious work, but bee-lined for the beaches.

We slipped through sea caves, stood transfixed by water rushing over sand, and (always my favorite) sorted stones along the shore, searching for bits of agate, finding treasures lost to those many who lack our fantastic eye for detail. We found life in every crevice of seemingly bare stone, poked a stinky jellyfish piece, and rocked in dizzying delight staring up at a huge flock of seagulls racing so close directly overhead that we could feel the breeze of their wings.

The ocean has always been one of my best places, something that soothes and sets me back to center, even at my most worn, enraged, or despairing. The ocean always brings me joy.

While we probably would have accomplished more on the presentation had we stayed within greater Portland, we accomplished far more (and far more needed) "work" yesterday in the way of happiness, friendship, and pleasure.

It's important to remember that a high quality of life includes time for the things we love, for things that are done just for their own delightful sake, not for any objective, or goal, or measure.

Photo note: Photo with this story taken by me on the Oceanside beach yesterday.

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Comments (1)

It has been eons since I've enjoyed the pleasure of taking a magical relaxing day trip.

My time was well spent with Dora yesterday and the best part of it was being with someone who could easily complete my sentences, or draw my attention to the next amazing thing.

Only Dora would immediately pull out her iPhone--on my behalf--to quickly Google those terrible looking little half-cockroach, half-millipede rock-dwelling prehistoric creatures we found (of course Dora loved and admired them, meanwhile I suppressed my impulses to scream). And only Dora would play almost all of my silly games, even spending an hour mining for the most intriguing rock specimens to sneak home. And only Dora would let me pick through her jelly beans and trade the ones I don't like for the ones I fancy. And only Dora would patiently answer my various What-if questions, as well as both listen to and support my latest idea for a teen book series. Did I mention that she even bought me gas and a chai? What a gem, eh?

We would have gotten in a bit more work if it weren't for my ornery mischievous ways. But Dora is quite right when she stated that a high quality life includes time for the things we both seek delight in and love. Hear hear, I'll make a toast to that!

p.s.--I've another trip up my sleeve to a rock and mineral museum...shhh, don't tell Dora, as it's a surprise!

@ Dora: I apologize for not working more, but you know I'm a mischievous scalawag without my fidgets. :)

Posted by Elesia Ashkenazy on 04/19/2009 @ 12:22PM PT
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Dora is committed to improving quality of life for individuals on the autistic spectrum--including herself! She is Co-director of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education and a member of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Board of Directors.