Sunsets, walks, and a new way of life.

Life before, in 2019:

Wake up! Run! Prepare to go to a building for most of the day, and then come back again tomorrow. Go home to binge tv shows and eat some “well-deserved” crap.

When we had the ability to fully live life, it was filled with sports events, concerts, dinner reservations, seeing movies, gatherings with friends, the gym, and so many more indoor, often crowded, activities.

With all of that gone, just going outside for a walk has become our sanity.

Now more than ever, we are reminded of how valuable and important nature and being outside are. Fresh air was so underrated until we were forced to be at home all the time.

We need sunlight, we need nature, and we need fresh air. I mean, we have always needed them—we just didn’t care much.

My new (and improved) normal—hobbies born during my COVID-19 life—are here to stay.

Going for a walk: affordable dating and quality time.

Simply going for a walk can be the best date ever. It’s low-cost, safe, and it gives us a chance to be outside our living room, thank god. Take in the sounds, birds chirping, the ticklish texture of the grass—maybe you can eat some green grapes and a sandwich while you watch the sky change colors—blue, pink, a little purple, and later in the evening, orange. Walking with a friend, or walking with your partner holding hands, and actually talking—and getting to know blocks of streets around you. I realized I didn’t even know my own neighborhood, and I had been here quite some time.

Going to the park.

Whether it is to read (I’m currently reading The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown, what about you?), to walk, to enjoy the sunset, to do 35 squats—whatever it is, it feels so grand to spend time outside. I love people watching at the park: families strolling together, people biking, couples kissing, or taking in some sun, people doing yoga, roller skating, small children running around, readers, dancers—it’s a parade of life.

Eating French pistachio macarons on top of a soft blue blanket in the park, waving the orangey sun goodbye, and seeing it disappear underneath the cold waves of the water—this is a treasure in my life.

Going to the Berkeley hills to see the lights come up.

Sitting down at the top of a hill and admiring how the city starts lighting up at dusk is such good therapy, and it’s one of my new favorite to-dos. With a warm, comfy, black jacket, and maybe some cookies to snack, I watch as each house, the bridges, the buildings, and the traffic all begin to turn their lights on. I always wonder about every little window lighting up—about how many moms are making tomorrow’s lunch for their kids, how many writers are wondering what in the world to write about, how many grandfathers are sitting on the sofa, remembering when they were younger and would dance. I wonder how many exhausted dads are thinking, all I want is to give my family a better life. 

Sitting on the patio to write.

Being at home all day can feel like such a task, so I set up a table outside, bring my coffee and comfy sweater, and I write. In doing so, I notice how much more relaxed, and even inspired I feel when writing outside with natural light.

I wonder how many of you reading this have discovered a passion for sunsets and going for walks?

Welcome 2021: fresh air and solitude—a way to renovate the energies in our lives. We’re learning to be friends with our diverse personalities, which is another plus from this pandemic, and a different subject we will leave for another time (insert wink).

Hear, hear! To living a life where there is no need to escape, where being present is the new normal, and enjoying our right livelihood—doing what we love, making a living with it, and being of benefit to others—makes us smile.