impermanence

She utters the word Impermanence... A word that should prompt some sense of our temporary nature and life. I hear this as my friend drives us along the coast towards Santa Cruz for some surfing.

I am enjoying the surreal experience of riding along the ragged Pacific Coast, listening to Arabic and Hindu music as mixed by DJ Cheb I Sabbah, and contemplating our sometimes brief exchanges with other beings. She has a strong awareness that is comforting and compelling, it fits well with my disposition and we converse on this notion and that of afterlife, soul contracts, learning, growing, and communication styles.

It seems from the impermanence reference that much of our discomfort in life is in expecting things to remain a certain way when they do indeed change, people come into and out of our lives in a series of paces, durations, and depth. I favor long deep relationships and thus feel discomfort in this notion of brief encounters. This seems to manifest especially in San Francisco where people come for a short time or longer but where relationships sometimes have a less adhesive nature.

While we delve into deep topics her dog contently sleeps on the rear seat. So preciously unaware or unconcerned about such things and perfectly content being in the present state of rest. Would that we were dogs...

We make our way to the beach and confront a sea full of floating kelp, low flat waves, and a large number of other surfers. Paddling through kelp as I'm instructed is fairly easy, once you let go of the unpleasantness and allow the kelp to naturally glide off of you. This is easier said than done as the instinctive visceral response is one of disgust and perhaps fear, what lurks inside or beneath this pile of kelp? Water, and nothing more. Gliding through the kelp fighting my natural response proves helpful and liberating. I watch the others catch wave after wave as I continue to practice my paddling and maneuvering. As the afternoon progresses I try to catch a few waves with marginal success but encouraged nonetheless. We leave the beach for another day and visit some friends nearby for a BBQ.

After walking her dog and humorously debating what to do with the baggie of dog poo. We join the BBQ and have a brief visit. I meet some more people from the Santa Cruz and Bay Area and sample some refreshing figs, cheese, and crackers. My mom calls me and I spend time catching up with her. After an hour or so, we leave the party and head back to the city.

Dusk is settling, and it puts a peaceful stillness on the road and inserts more silent pauses into our conversation. This is comfortable quiet not anxious or awkward. I feel the silence and appreciate the spots of nothing between the words, phrases, and questions.
As we part ways I realize it's been an entire day and an enjoyable one. I bid her goodnight and step into my apartment for a few quiet hours before sleep.