IN THE EVENING, I find a small inlet after driving along the coast near my home. The turquoise water by the shore turns dark and blue and glistens in the waning sun further out to sea.

After a day of work, the water beckons; I have to get in. Gazing at the ocean on a cheerful summer day is one of those sights that transcend time. It’s an experience I’ll never tire of; it makes me grateful to be alive.

My spirit fills with profound joy as I cruise along the coast, looking for the opportune place to jump in.

I have a body that works; I’m free with the choice to experience the fullness of existence. I have the daily challenge to create change from the inside out every single day.

I know how good this life can be. It comes from the simplest things which I hope to never take for granted — the Earth revolving around the sun another year.

I make my way into the water and just float for a while. There’s no better feeling — laying on my back, carried by the waves as my body restores, looking up at the sky and back at the bustling cove.

The water has that quality of the afternoon; warmed from a day of rising and falling in the sun.

So often we’re focused on what we’re doing, consistently occupied and moving. We ask for the days to turn quicker so we might then be happy.

I’ve been feeling a pressure; my inner voice tells me to go, get out there and see the world — find out what you’re made of by truly pushing the boundaries.

But on a day like this, where I feel energy flow through me in pure positivity, my pace slows, and I know I’m home. This feeling; this is home wherever I am.

I know I’m going to get there. My curiosity’s grip on my heart and soul is too strong to ignore. But I don’t want to regret not appreciating what I have right in front of me. I sit on the beach with my back against a hot stone wall, my eyes closed, listening to the waves, the people, the joy.

I’m home in my body, I’m home in my soul, exploring what it means to be alive through a shared smile or a laugh with a passing stranger.

I leave the beach and walk on the boardwalk until I stop by a woman creating bracelets out of beautiful beads of all sizes. She looks so content.

I’m enamored by the colors, hundreds of bracelets in different earthy tones: dark reds and light purple, blues and translucent green. Some look like pearls, silvery and pure. The woman selling the beads has a radiant smile.

She’s from São Paulo and guesses that I’m from Ireland. I’m not, but I’ll take it. Earlier in the day I met a couple from Guadalajara. Where are you from? A question with endless possibilities.

There’s so much out there. It intrigues me to learn where people are from, and why they’re here now.

We trade places in a way, as I long to be the foreigner; but today, I’m the local. This, right where I am, this is as good as anything.

Perhaps happiness is a by-product of other emotions — the result of hard work, fulfillment and connection. Whatever it is, at this moment, I feel nothing but gratitude.

I’m happy. I want to be here now; don’t need to go anywhere immediately if what I’m after is what I feel as I float in the rocking ocean. The sultry, salty air is the remedy, the cure, the good.

This is the essence of the season, a moment that exemplifies a time that stays with you for the rest of your life.

This is one of those times, full of music, laughter, love, sunlight.

I’m trying to find my way, perhaps my way back here, to this feeling of love and content. I’m here and I’m alive with the choice to connect — I look around and others seem happy too, because we’re alive, celebrating life together.

Where the ocean breaks, where it heals worn out souls.

This is the essence of the season, a memory I’ll always cherish.