No, this post is not about a Jack Nicholson movie.
It’s about appreciating and enjoying the beautiful simplicity of life, so perfectly described in the above song by Colin Hay. I recently rediscovered this song and am remembering just how much I love it and its message. I encourage you to listen while you read. I listened while I wrote.
“My, my, my, it’s a beautiful world” he sings, “I like swimming in the sea”. Throughout the song he croons about all the simple things that make the world beautiful to him: making his own tea, driving in his car, sleeping with Marie and of course, swimming in the sea.
It’s a lesson I learned growing up in rural Nova Scotia. That ambition is great and all, but one should never lose sight of the things that are really important in life: time spent with family and friends. My parents, my family, they appreciate the simple life. We never had much money, but we had all the things that were important and we had them in abundance. Along the way I have also learned how important it is to connect with the environment we live in, to feel part of something bigger than yourself – and thus Maritime Love was born.
“Still this emptiness persists. Perhaps this is as good as it gets”
Most of the time I think we make life a lot more complicated than it has to be. We hurry through life, trying to accomplish as much as possible along the way but never really experiencing any of it. There is so much joy to be had in the little things in life, if only we took the time to fully appreciate and be grateful for them. I tend to think that this is where the true meaning of life is secretly tucked away: in the quiet moments we share with loved ones and the world around us. When we slow down long enough to really taste the tea, to feel the wind in our hair and the water buoy us up. Some might say that this is the space where God lives. I don’t know about that, but I know that it’s a place where I aspire to live.
“I watch the sun as it comes up, I watch it as it sets. Yeah, this is as good as it gets”
It sure is.
