New year, new resolutions, new goals, new start, new ambitions, new locations, new adventures, new outlook..............same blog.
I haven't been able to get out very much recently due to having the Australian version of man flu and also because of the weather not playing ball. Each year I try to keep my New Years resolutions simple. Last year it was to read a book a month, learn how to do a handstand and to be happy. 12 months on and I read 13 books, mastered the handstand and while I was very happy with my year I learned that happiness wasn't an achievable goal. Happiness is an emotional response to an outcome, it is result reliant. No matter what you do in life, happiness depends on the outcome of something. If my favourite team wins I'm happy, if they don't I'm not. If happiness is what I sought I found that I was going to be unhappy almost as much as I was happy. Joy though, joy is something else. Joy doesn't give you a choice joy is not a response. Joy is the feeling we get when we do what we are fashioned to do, no matter the outcome. In other words joy comes from doing what we want to do. No matter the weather, no matter if I took some good photos or if my adventures out turned into a good story or a blog, it was simply going out and doing what I love to do that brought me the most joy and it didn't matter where I was or how successful my day was. The very act of being out by the coast, exploring new places, going on new adventures, meeting new people or just being able to clear my head and find my own frequency again is where I found the most joy.
Once Christmas and New Years Eve are out of the way the new year is usually a slow start for mot people, but not for me. Exactly a week after the start of a new year I celebrate my birthday. In the lead up to my birthday weekendI kept checking the forecast oping to see some sunshine. We only had to wait 6 days into the new year for it. I worked all Saturday morning and was met afterwards by my good friend and previous star of this blog Tara. We'd planned in advance to go to The Minack Theatre. I've never been inside and it was on my list of places I wanted to see this year, so I took the opportunity t start ticking off my list for this year. Its currently only open at the weekends and is only £5 for a years pass (bargain). They will open fully in the spring when the shows start. For now the exhibition is open and you can walk around outside in the amphitheatre. After walking through the exhibition and learning all about Rowena Cade we went outside and found ourselves at the top of the theatre looking down.
From the top it doesn't look that big. It may be because its a steep drop down and you never feel too far from the front or it might be because of the enormity of the vast ocean beyond the stage. The combination of glaring sun and sweeping winds made the sea come alive with colour and energy. Waves crashed against the rocks below us and the strong winds blew the salty air up over the theatre. We walked down over the seats/steps to the bottom and looked out through the stage arch window.
Below us and to the left there were surfers out enjoying the new year swell as well as several groups of people on Porthcurno beach making the most of this rare sunny day. From the stage the theatre suddenly looks huge and much different to the view from the top. From here you can see all the seats and you realise what a daunting task it must be for anyone performing here with all eyes looking down at you. They must feel almost like gladiators at the collisseum.
We leave the Minack and walk down to the beach below. Since its the day before my birthday Tara has very kindly bought me a birthday cake and we decide to have a slice while watching the surf. Porthcurno is a beautiful beach, tucked away in the valley below the Minack. The sand feels and finer softer here than anywhere in Cornwall. The beach itself feels very clean, no plastic of rubbish left lying around and not even any seaweed left behind by the last tide. By now the sun has almost disappeared over the headland, so we find the last corner of the beach still in sunshine and climb up on the rocks. I feel doted on that Tara would take the time to bring me a cake for my birthday. I was just sat thinking how sweet and thoughtful it was until she turned around at me smiling from ear to ear as she presented the cake to me along with candles spelling out the words 'You're Old'. She could hide her delight at being a year younger than me and insisted she get a picture.
Now I don't minding another year older, age has never really bothered me and despite the candles I was still touched that Tara would go to all that trouble just for me. So thank you for making turning another year older an enjoyable experience. I can honestly ay I've never celebrated my birthday eating cake in the sun whilst sat on a rock watching the waves. If you're lucky enough that the sun is shining on your birthday and a friend as good as mine, I'd definitely recommend it.
Its funny how quickly the beach turns cold once the sun disappears behind the cliff. Its also very easy to forget that its the start of January when you're eating cake in the sun. After having Porthcurno I drive back to Marazion hoping to see the sunset at St Michael Mount. I've been there several times before and have always wanted to be there when the tide was out far enough to walk out to the mount. Call it luck, chance or an early birthday present but we parked up to see the full footpath and the tide out past the mount. The sun as just setting as we walked along the path and it more than made up for the fact we were both freezing cold. We stopped halfway so we could take some photos but also just to stand and look around at what is a beautiful place. Before leaving we made sure we collected any rubbish and plastic we could find on the beach.
Despite eating almost half a birthday cake (I had the tiniest of slither, honest) we were both still hungry and an earlier talk of pasties had us driving around Marazion and Penzance at closing time like we were on Challenge Anneka. After failing in two shops we found the remaining 2 pasties in Penzance and sat on the harbour wall to eat them. By now the moon was above us and the street lights lit up the boats in the harbour. Laughing, Tara turns to me and says its been the best day of the year so far. Despite her obvious joking demeanour, she's more than half serious. She can already tell by the smile on my face that I'm in agreement. Thats the thing about joy, its hard to hide. Make sure you take the time to do more of the things that bring you joy. I get the feeling that it'll take a while before the 6th January is beaten as the best day of the year so far.
Music - Lord Huron - Ends Of The Earth