Some days are just out of kilter. From the moment you wake, you feel out of sync with the world. Or something frustrating happens that derails the rest of your day. When this happens, my girlfriends blame it on Mercury in retrograde (apparently, it’s not). I know it’s mind over matter, but it’s not always easy to control how you respond to events.

This first Wednesday of summer was one of those days. Both Hannah and I woke off-center. For me, I know it had to do with lack of sleep after 1:30 a.m. last night. Slogging through the day in a fog, I raced home from work to pick up Hannah head to the beach.

Once there, we headed our own directions – Hannah in search of beach treasures – me for a beach stroll from one end of the beach to the other with my toes in the sand and waves.

The tide was out, leaving a nice strip of sand to stroll along just shy of the waves.

There’s something about the beach. The rhythm of the waves helps regulate.  You breathe deeper.  You focus on the wind, the crashing of the waves, the saltwater drying on your legs. A beach is a place where you can get out of your head.

On my return trip, I bumped into Hannah again (in her Take Me to the Ocean tee). She had a smile on her face, and all was right again with the world.

I’ve said it before, but a visit to the beach is akin to a reset button. And you need that some days.