I went to the beach after my son’s baseball game tonight. Heck, they won, and it was only a 4 minute drive from the field. Why not?

The people that come to the beach for the remians of the day are much different than the daytime folks. A quieter reflective folk.

As I look around, I see some daytime folks packing up. And there is lots of sand shaking- shaking it out of clothes, blankets, towels, their hair. Shake shake shake. Wait, there is a woman doing a yoga pose in the sand- straight up standing on her head. Now that’s going to take some shaking to get the sand out. I am struck for a moment about all that sand- how intrusive and sticky it is. It gets everywhere. Yet, a shake or two or three really flicks it off. It’s kind of a euphemism for problems in life. All these problems or issues or worries can really stick to us, really annoy us or downright hurt (hot sand under your feet or a sharp shell or rock). But, if we can just shake it loose, not a ton of effort, but a few swings of the towel or shirt, it gets rid of most of the sand, enough so that it’s not a bother anymore. And the rest finds its way off as we head back to the car. So, if I shrug off some of my problems and worry, give them a firm shake, they’re not quite as bothersome. I’ll remember that the next time I’m anxious over something. I’ll visualize shaking my towel and all of the sand coming off.

Oh look out of the corner of my eye-a sweet couple cuddling. It only took about six minutes before they went on their phones. Who knows, maybe they are getting sand off their screens.