Serenity now...

Growing up in California, I was privy to some great things... but recently I've come to realize how much I miss the beach. When I wanted to go think about something, I would most often drive to the beach and just walk up and down the coast, pants rolled up, walking through the water... or sit and watch the sunset sink into the horizon. These are the settings for some of my life's hardest decisions. For me the beach evokes a serenity, especially at dusk, that I didn't think could be matched. Serenity at my finger tips... all that was required was transport to the beach.

Now living in Utah, I have learned that mountains also provide serenity, but in a very different way... when you reach a mountain top it usually requires hard work, and those moments of serenity standing on top of a mountain is also coupled with complete triumph and satisfaction. Which now, funny enough, is an escape for me... similar to the beach. Perhaps it is the many that I have to pass on the trail or leave behind to find it... allowing me to truly be alone with my thoughts. Some wonder how hard work could equal a moment of serenity, but each mountain summit tells a story of my life, similar to each footprint trail down the coast. Is it possible that the mountains are the new age, wuss-purging, exulted serenity? If so, would that make the beach, the poor-man's serenity? Or are both equal?

Is there a place in the world that has both of these elements in one spot? The mountain at your back door and the beach at the front? Why do I have to choose... I wonder if I could do two times the thinking with both of these scenes at my fingertips.