Over this past weekend, I made a spontaneous trip with my family out to the coastal shoes of Belmar, home to arguably the finest beaches in the Jersey Shore. It is only a short 45-minute drive from where I live in New Jersey so I am a bit surprised that I’ve never ventured out here before. As a first time visitor, the area quite notably had its own charm to it: tiny lake houses all around, locals sitting on their patio socializing over beer and best of all, a local Dairy Queen!
In light of all the tumultuous news that has taken the world by storm along with other personal struggles, it’s accurate to say that I have been feeling quite “overwhelmed.” Well, sort of. If I was to paint a better picture of this abstract feeling, it would be something along the lines of a person sitting on a pendulum swinging in and out of a hazy smoke, metaphorically symbolizing a “zoned out” headspace. The reality is that the oh so comfortable world that we have grown accustomed is no longer and we have now entered into a completely new era. There is nothing we can really do other than embrace the unfamiliarity of this new space and adapt. I know for a fact that many folks out there are struggling and battling with mental health, at least to some degree. In that sense, I find solace in this odd camaraderie because we are all in this together in what seems to be endless mental loop. Needless to say, this trip to catch the retreating sunset of Belmar did help with restoring some mental clarity.
On the way to Belmar, we made a not-so-quick detour to pick up some fried chicken and snacks, because what road trip would be complete without those unhealthy goodies? After spending an absurdly long time browsing through every single item on the menu at the drive-through, we settled on a tub of fried chicken thighs (accompanied with a XL Mountain Dew to rinse down all that grease with straight up sugar). Eventually we made our way there and was able to catch the last 10-20 minutes of the sunset at Maclearie Park.
As it was a beautiful Sunday evening, it wasn’t a surprise that quite a handful of people were still out and about in the park, basking in the receding sunlight. The sky was the epitome of visual aesthetics and looked like a painting, gradating from a warm yellow to cold blue. Watching people paddle-boarding slowly but surely rowing in parallel with the distant mountains, I could hear the song “Horizon” by Nujabes in the back of my head while imagining myself in Tamsui, a fisherman wharf in Taipei that withholds the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever laid eyes on.
With such a picturesque backdrop that seems to be a cue for deep personal reflection, you might wonder to yourself what did I ponder about? The majority of my thoughts were centered around the acknowledgement of how different not only this summer but the rest of the year was going to be like.
Everything feels uncertain and decision making seems to be a lot harder to make and twice as precautionary. It’s difficult to comprehend in the moment but I know that there are in fact positives that will come from our current day situation. I’m doing my best to keep my head afloat, be optimistic and think of this whole ordeal as an opportunity. There is a saying that “the horizon is only the limit of our sight,” so lets have foresight to see far and beyond than what’s visible.
With this new mentality, cheers to the best freaking summer ever – excited to see what is in store! I will definitely be doing my part in keeping my schedule busy with being active, working on creative side projects and meeting up with friends under the necessary safety precautions. Summer of 2020 let’s go, I’m ready for you! ⛱
