Good morning sunshine! It is the first day of spring and the sun is shining brightly as I sit on the balcony sipping a freshly brewed lemon myrtle tea. The ocean is back to it's glorious turquoise blue blending perfectly with the horizon. As I look down below me bees are buzzing and birds are singing sweet melodies. The sound of the waves crashing to the shore lull me into a meditation as the sun warms my skin. Days like this truly are bliss. Days like this make me grateful to be alive. Alive.....Do we ever think about being alive, I mean REALLY being alive. The kind of alive where we wake up ready to bounce into the day, the kind of alive where our eyes sparkle and our skin shines with happiness radiating from deep within. I do. Every single day I wake up feeling grateful for life. For being blessed with my journey. Even more so this morning.

Yesterday, after 8 days of surf too big to even go near, the ocean beckoned me. The sun was out for the first time in almost 2 weeks and the swell had subsided. Getting up early I packed a picnic lunch and headed off  in the car with my partner up the coast to meet a friend for a day of surfing and sunshine. We paddled out all together and surfed for a few hours. I came in while they continued to surf to grab a coffee and a sunbake. I decided after they came in to hit the water again. The swell was building ever so slightly bringing with it fun looking 3 ft peelers. As I paddled out I thought about just how blessed I am to be a mermaid. After catching a few fun peelers I decided to paddle across further to where I could see bigger and faster waves. Before I knew it there was a freak set rolling towards me and I was in the impact zone. The first few waves I eskimo rolled my board but the force of the white water on my 56 kilo frame with a 9'1 board was too much and my board was ripped out of my arms. I had no choice but to dive under each wave. The second last wave in the set was a cracker and I must have breathed in deeply too late because as I dove under I felt water in my mouth. I stayed under for as long as I could so the wave could pass over me and as I surfaced I breathed in but water went in and I coughed it out just in time to duck under the last wave of the set (and the biggest) where I was struggling to hold my breath. As I popped up to the surface I grabbed my board, jumped on and tried to get breath which was proving difficult because of the water in my stomach and lungs. I coughed and coughed until I could feel the water expelling itself and then I paddled as fast as I could toward the shore catching a wave to get me in. I had so much adrenaline pumping through my body that I jumped up on the wave which was peeling perfectly and nose rode most of the way in before collapsing on the sand crying with a mixture of feelings - relief, happiness and shock.

I am truly not someone who takes life for granted. I believe that we must do what makes us and others happy. I believe we must follow our heart on the path to a our truth. But even more so this morning after my brush with fate yesterday afternoon I woke up and reveled in the feel of my partners arms holding me as he slept soundly, the colours in the sky as the sun rose over the ocean, the feel of the warm doona on my skin and the sound of my mothers voice when I spoke to her on the telephone. It truly is the simple things in life that bless us in every moment.