Jetlag Juxtaposition

Jet lag makes people do stupid things. Well, ok… maybe not people.. but I definitely find myself being stupid when I have jet lag.  For the past three nights, I’ve been waking up at some kind of crazy hour and I mean, for good reason – I was just on the other side of the world for a good month.

I have since gone though all my old clothes and goods and donated it all to good will.  Yep, this girl went on an epic downsizing rampage.  I also think travelling for two weeks with just the clothes on my back (aka, my very favourite human shirt) did me the world of good.  So, out everything went! 

Now, the last time I was in Sydney was over a month ago and it was kinda like this epic ‘let’s run Tara off her feet’ epic adventure.  Basically, I came back from Ireland and putting out family fires in the United States and had this crazy “what the heck just happened moment in Sydney for the next eight weeks.”  Just imagine me staring at something, just blinking a lot – that’s what the last time I was in Sydney felt like. Here in Australia we would call it a ‘stunned mullet.’  I had just been through two very life changing experiences and just didn’t know how to react.  And, I was heading off to Europe and the United States again in eight weeks.

The point I’m trying to get to is, I missed a lot the last time I was in Sydney because I was in a state of shock.  However, whilst in Europe, I had a lot of time to reflect what happened with Ireland and the US.  I now have a much better grasp on what I was experiencing.  I think of this last trip to Europe was healing.  I was there only because I had to go to the USA.  Australia is just so far from everywhere and since I was passing over Europe, I thought why the heck don’t I stop in for a little while and clear the head.  It worked.

Now, you’re caught up with the highlights version of the  backstory.  This, now, brings me to my jet lag…. 

I flew from Germany, London, Dubai and finally Sydney.  I saw two sunrises whilst travelling over 30+ hours to get home.  Normally, I just pass though the USA and sleep the entire flight as we fly with the Earth – this was different.  This time, flying was tough.

I hardly slept on the flight – I watched every movie on the airplane and since my luggage was lost somewhere in the world, I couldn’t read my book.  I got into Sydney, and headed home.  That’s when jet lag smacked me in the face.

The next three days, I was waking up at 3am.  Pottering around the house like a champion – you should REALLY see the amount of stuff I’ve gotten rid of and then, when I finally got bored enough, and felt there was enough sunlight for a run, I’d hit the streets.  Today, however, I tried something new.  I went for a walk down at Bondi.  

For a girl who’s been living in Sydney for thirteen years, I have never seen a sunrise in Sydney.  Seriously.  I don’t think Sydneysiders appreciate their homes enough because we’re too busy just trying to pay our rent.  But, this was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in a long time.  

I left my house at around 4:30am – everything was black.  Both the harbour bridge and opera house are turned off!  Bondi was pretty black, too… but I started to navigate the Sydney coastal walk.  It’s a bit hilly and the steps are handmade, so I really had to be careful not to face-plant because it could be a while before seeing someone.  But then “super hot Sydney” man ran by me twice… I was ok face planting if “super hot Sydney man” carried me to the hospital. (and there wasn’t just one.. there were a few – I was contemplating faking a twisted ankle)

I kept walking toward Bronte Beach.  What I noticed is that sunrises are pretty dramatic.  Since they take so long to appear, the way the light interacts with the landscape makes for a pretty surreal experience.  I was heading away from the sun, but every time I turned around, the colours surprised me.  

A few morning people said hello to me.  This was so cool!  Everyone was just so friendly! I was really enjoying this!  I realised that jet lag was making me feel much more a part of  Sydney society because I was able to interact with locals!  I, then, turned around and headed back toward Bondi – there were still a few minutes until the actual sunrise and I wanted to catch a glimpse of it.  

I navigated Tamarama beach, turned the corner and made it to where I saw the group of people forming.  I backed up onto the grass and took a seat.  It was perfect timing, because this happened: The finest sliver of orange light appeared and the group roared with excitement.  This was one heck of a cool experience.  How the heck was I here and why?  This isn’t like me?  I am terrible at waking up in the mornings and now I just witnessed a bunch of people cheering because the sun came up!  What an experience.  I realised that the world needs more of this.  That, yes.. the sun does come up every day, but the way it makes you feel is what matters most.  This was beautiful on so many levels.  Sure, the landscape is beautiful, but people gathered to witness something that happens every single day and they CHEERED about it.  This group found something magical in something so simple and is taken for granted by the rest of us.  I just find that amazing. These guys who came out to see the sunrise stripped the onion right back to what it really means to be alive….. to exist on this incredible planet of ours and I got to witness it first-hand.  Wow.  I guess I’d like to invite you to go see a sunrise wherever you are…. Go in with an open mind and don’t over think it.  I really just got lucky with this one; jet lag gave me one heck of an incredible experience.  I think surfers are truly onto something.