Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Florida for the first time. I attended the NINC conference–the annual event held by Novelists, Inc.

I learned a ton of new things about the publishing industry, but I also learned about Florida!

I’ve always enjoyed tropical weather. In that respect, I’m probably an outlier. I love the feel of balmy air on my skin and I don’t mind the humidity at all, because my skin is dry enough to be problematic. Moreover, I’m a dedicated lover of all things ocean. Swimming. Sand between my toes. Fish and seabirds and sunshine. One woman I met wore a “Salt Life” T-shirt. I guess that’s like… a thing down there. My birth mother was from Hawaii, and while I’m a California girl, born and raised here, I really believe I should live in the tropics or along the gulf coast; someplace where I can get that sweet moisture on my skin all the time.

I love hanging out down by the water, living inside the rhythm of all natural things—day and night–just feeling out for the ebb and flow of water and wind and the changing air currents of sunrise and sunset. I start to get a real feel for the way everything connects. I become part of the energy created by the movement of our little blue marble in space and once that happens, bang! I feel at home in a way I forget, until the next time I reconnect.

It’s easy to forget the big picture when all the little pictures are so fraught with peril. But it pays to remember there’s a natural order to things. There are very real and immutable physical laws. There are very real and immutable karmic laws.

It pays to remember: A man can fake a suntan, but the sun doesn’t know or care.