In Between Life

As I sit here at the Costa Rica Airport in San Jose listening to Jack Johnson lament over the whereabouts of all the good people, I find myself in the most unexpected state of peace that I’ve experienced for a long time. It's almost as if my layover in this quaint airport finds me between two pieces of life, or in a gap in time. Across the runway rises a set of green mountains graced by puffy white clouds which are about to take on the purples and pinks of their sun drenched neighbors of only a few miles away to the West. The scene somehow brings back fond memories of so many sunsets and even more sunrises at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. It was there where my father, grandfather, brother, and uncle once worked so hard together to boost flight after flight of TWA, Northwest, and Continental’s schedule in and out of our peaceful and fair RDU. The memories are fond and, as I see and hear the roar of the MD-80s and and 737s blasting away; I somehow feel a part of it all. Those early mornings and late evenings were such an exciting time for a young boy as I seemed to have more responsibility on my shoulders than most of my friends who were likely at home shooting hoops or trying to master the last level of The Legend of Zelda.

I could almost get lost in this sunset. If this felt any more right than it does now, I would walk out of this airport, catch a bus to Tamarindo, buy a new board, and surf my shoulders out of socket. Yet, in the back of my mind, I know that I will press on. The little piece of God that seems to exist inside me knows that I must work. It is intertwined into who I am. Surfing or traveling without aim would never satisfy me forever. And so I know that this moment of bliss is meant to be enjoyed in the now. It will fade within minutes. Here it began…..and here it will end. Jack play a song, and Jesus lead on.