I looked for something new every day and I found it
Connecting to nature in the midst of a global pandemic
I looked for something new every day and I found it
Connecting to nature in the midst of a global pandemic
The Journey
I started running on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on March 21, 2020, days after the city’s "shelter in place" order was issued. At first, running was a way to be active while the gym was closed. Soon, it became something to keep me grounded and balanced while adjusting to this bizarre new Covid life. The more I reflected on my spontaneous decision to start running, the more I realized that I was running from, and in spite of, the virus. Running was a physical act of defiance—a symbolic way of staying two steps ahead of sickness and death.
As days of running turned into weeks and months, I ran farther, and it got easier. I also noticed changes—both in a remarkable and gratifying physical transformation and in the world around me. I’d been running the same five or six-mile stretch of Ocean Beach almost every day, and every time, I ran a different beach. The physical and emotional changes I was undergoing, the daily struggle—for all of us, I realize—dealing with Covid life, they all seemed to be reflected in the sand, the sky, the waves—even the birds. One day I’d see crashing waves and an ominous sky, the next, a gentle surf and a brilliant, hopeful sunset. Some days the birds were riled and cacophonous. Other days they seemed to wait for me, standing in some sort of magical formation and, I like to think, knowing I was a friend. Every day, with the world seemingly falling apart around me, nature showed me some new miracle. I looked for something new every day. And I always found it.
Over the last year, I’ve run more than 500 miles and taken more than 750 photographs. All my images are taken quite literally on the run—I barely slow my pace as I capture photos with my iPhone. I still run that same piece of Ocean Beach—I’ve developed an emotional attachment to it that overwhelms me with gratitude. With my photographs, I’ve sought to capture some of the magic, wonder, fury and meditation this beach has offered me.
My journey continues. I’m pleased to share a part of it with you.
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