At the suggestion of my good friend, Kristin Gast, I have decided to participate in Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. The basic deal is that Gwen encourages bloggers to reflect on 2009 by providing a different topic each day to ponder and write about.  I will not be writing on each of the 31 topics, but rather picking those that resonate the most with me.

Today’s prompt asks what was your best moment of peace in 2009.

Last year my family and I decided to skip the hustle and bustle of the holidays and head south to Ixtapa, Mexico. The entire week was amazing, but there was one moment of the trip that took the cake in terms of peacefulness. I decided to leave my family at the beach and head back to the condo to relax before dinner. After making myself a drink, I settled in to watch the sunset on the patio overlooking the ocean.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than try to describe the scene I want to share a couple photos I captured during this moment of serenity. But first, I must explain that I have an intense spiritual connection to the ocean. Something about the massive size, powerful strength and the fact that so much of it remains a vast mystery, I never feel more connected to the world, or at peace with myself, than when I am near the ocean.

Feel free to leave a comment and share your best moment of peace in 2009. I would love to hear it!