The mad summer rush is on. School is ending, vacations need planning, bags need packing, kids need summer activities scheduled. . . we wouldn’t want their brain to quiet, their bodies to still, and just take in the moment.
Wait. WHAT?!
Yeah, that’s what we thought as we rushed about our work day, always thinking of new ways to get people exploring Dublin. So busy we kind of forgot to do a little exploring ourselves.
So we stopped.
That’s what we do right? Our business is all about getting travelers to stop, breathe in all that is Dublin, and relax. Have a vacation, create the memories, immortalize it on every social media platform out there, try the foods, shop the boutiques, walk the path…
Wait. WHAT?!
What about those quiet moments that no one photographs? The sound of the giggle that lights the night air that no one snapchats? The cloud that lit the sky that didn’t get tweeted?
Here’s our list of those #DublinGA moments. Those still seconds that light your life. The ones you can’t capture with any iPhone…
Things That Make You Say Ohmm
Photo by Lauren Chambers Photography @lauren.chambers.photography via Instagram
Let it be
How often as beings do we focus on our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being? Tasks, sure. Life has become a list of accomplishments and failures, a checklist of work we need to do on our mindset, life focuses, our
#GOALS!!!!
Enter Megan Shepard, a licensed massage therapist based out of the Fred Roberts in Downtown Dublin. Megan’s hands offer a respite for brain, body, and soul in 30, 60, or 90 minute sessions with specialties in prenatal, traditional Swedish, warm stone, and aromatherapy massages. For a full list of her services, go HERE. Megan creates a peaceful setting where your body, mind, and spirit can meld, heal, and rest. So deeply, you’ll likely fall asleep. It doesn’t get more “ohmmm” than that.
The Sound of Silence
Traditionally, Ohmm is the sound of silence that allows you to tune out your thoughts and listen to the world around you. Music, as Plato declared, “gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Think of that moment when you’re in the car, wide open road, windows down, and THAT song comes on. Out blows any concern for how you look and what your hair is going to look like when you arrive. Caution is thrown to the wind as you belt out the tune, your whole body, heart, and soul moving in sync to the beat.
Cue DubJam, Dublin’s three day music festival at Stubbs Park the weekend of June 2nd-4th. Artists from across Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida are returning home to #DublinGA to share their love, for free, with you in hopes of getting you outside the NOW and into the realm of imagination, expression, and feeling. So shut up and dance with me.
Let your heart speak through art at several art stations set up throughout the festival. Paint a giant graffiti mural wall, get twisted with a copper wire necklace, throw a little fun with egg toss art, help paint planter boxes, chalk up the streets, and beautify Stubbs Park by painting trash cans.
But first, yoga.
Start each of the days by aligning your vibes with others as Shana Flury leads your body, mind, and spirit through gentle poses to create a sense of peace and well-being. Saturday’s yoga begins at 9 AM and Sunday’s session starts at 11 AM. Roll out your mat, feel the flow, and release under the historic pines of Stubbs Park.
Life on Life’s Terms
Calming in its own right, Stubbs Park has a natural energy that connects hearts together. From people to birds, life is drawn to Stubbs. Sitting in the grass, watching people connect, hearing children laugh as they chase one another, smelling grills alight with food for families, music thumping like a heartbeat, this is the reward I get for choosing to live on Stubbs Park. Mention Stubbs Park as part of a work project, and the partners line up to help. Trashcans donated and painted, planters repaired, City of Dublin bicycle officers jostling to be assigned DubJam duty so they can hear Sunbelt Revolution again. Stubbs Park brings joy, and really…can you ask more than that?
It is what it is
Ever want to leave the world behind, lie on your back, and watch the clouds drift by? Dublin offers
a wealth of places. My favorite is easily River Bend Wildlife Management Area. Located a quick walk off exit 58 on I-16, stepping into River Bend is like taking a huge breath and releasing it, knowing you’ll feel, hear, and experience every bit of the exhale. With over 3,500 acres of woodlands, swamplands, ponds, and the Oconee River, it’s likely you won’t see another human soul. You will hear birds fluttering and chirping, breezes singing through the trees, fowl and other wildlife simply being. Primitive campsites are available for night star watching. Hike, bike, picnic, and just experience nature being what it is.
Stop to smell the roses
Cliche perhaps, but is it? Think of it as a reminder to return to the small things that made you smile as a child: a butterfly flitting, running through the sprinklers on a hot summer afternoon, and getting your hands really dirty. That’s where life is. Let’s live it.
Show us what makes you say “Ohmm” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat using #DublinGA and we’ll go explore for our next blog!
Love, Hugs & Dandelion Fluff, “Bossie”
Rebecca McWilliam, Visit Dublin GA
