What's on the other side of grumpiness?

I woke up (or woked up as my 3 year old says) in a pretty grumpy mood.

A bad night’s sleep, ruminating on a crazy to do list, feeling like I needed more rest.

As my wife slipped out to her exercise class, it turned out my sons had woken up the same.

It’s not a good combination, 3 grumping males together. It felt like a pressure cooker and someone was going to blow their top.

Later, it being a beautiful Spring day, we somehow managed to corral ourselves to get to the beach for the early afternoon.

What a blessing.

Really, what a blessing.

I slowed in my tracks as I made my way down on to the sands. The water was a perfect blue. The sky was clear, the bay inviting.

It was as if I woke up from my self-created and temporary nightmare, and suddenly got present.

My eldest son and I walked down to the water, took the plunge and went for an invigorating swim.

We splashed about, fooling around, laughing and having a whale of a time.

Now of course, the benefits of cold water swimming to mental health are well documented.

But what I see, and share with my clients, is that it’s not the cold water, the hot yoga, the meditation, the coffee or anything else that creates the benefit of instant presence.

It’s that our minds quieten. When the mind quietens, all is well.

What we most often seek is a quiet mind. The sheer peace of it.

Again, what a blessing to know that our minds can quieten and from the presence of a quiet mind, we fall back into appreciation, into stillness, into connection.

No effort required. That return home is always available.