Torrey Pines is a natural state preserve in San Diego County. There are huge trees reaching off cliffs to meet the beach at this particular spot, my favorite.

Sometimes just an hour of solitude in a beautiful place is all I need to feel alive. This is something I do often, when I feel like I can’t move another muscle or make another decision. I am very aware now of my stress level, and when it needs to be adjusted so that I can live my day more wholeheartedly. When I feel drained, depleted, and empty, I am usually called outside, almost always it is the ocean, and in the Fall it was all about the ocean at night.

I go to a place, and I let myself go completely empty and silent, and I listen and I smell and I feel. And the place gives to me what was missing, it fills me right up.

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I discovered this about myself last year, and it is something that has become ritual. Vital, sacred. I can even do it at home. I think I might start sharing more of my restorative moments here, because taking photos is always a part of the process. Seeing in a new way, pushing myself, learning.

Tara