B-Side

Remindful

Two Spas on a Two-Decade Day Trip

Last weekend, I took the back roads to San Diego. I had a day trip ahead of me – about 80 miles – and I wanted to slow it down. Take the scenic route. See what I’d see.

I was scrolling through Google Maps, watching the businesses pop up along my route, when one name caught my eye: The Golden Door. Wait. Is that the place Oprah used to visit? I thought it was in Tecate, Mexico. But no – there it is. Right off the road I’m taking. Twin Oaks Valley Road, just outside San Marcos. I couldn’t believe it. The Golden Door was 70 miles away, and I was driving right past it.

The Plan

I knew I couldn’t stay there – same situation as always. These places are wonderful. Beautiful, intentional, transformative… and expensive. But I noticed something on their website: The Golden Door Country Store. It’s on their property. Open to the public. You can stop in, buy fresh-baked bread, pick up fruit from their groves, browse their honey and baked goods. No reservation required. Perfect.

The Arrival

When I got there, the fog was thick. So much so, that I actually drove passed the Golden Door property; everything was disappearing into gray. But as I came around the curve, there it was: the Golden Door Country Store.

It’s not a typical store. There are no walls. Just a roof, open sides, and a few support beams. Very minimalist. Very Japanese-inspired. Like a pagoda sitting in the middle of Valencia orange groves. The fog softened everything. The citrus trees were faintly visible through the mist. The air smelled like earth and oranges and something I can only describe as intentional.

Inside the Store

The produce was displayed in galvanized metal bins on wooden tables. Oranges. Lemons. Apples. All fresh-picked from their farm. There was a chalkboard at the opposite side of the entry that said: “I’M GRATEFUL FOR…” People had written things: Having a good wife. My health & husband. Our journey. Jesus. I stood there reading them, feeling the weight of gratitude hanging in the air.

Then I looked at the bread. Freshly baked that morning. Wrapped in brown paper bags. I picked up a demi loaf of Cinnamon Craisin Sourdough and turned it over to read the label. That’s when I saw it: “100% of Golden Door’s net profits go to help end child abuse and transform young lives.”

I bought the bread. And I was given a bag of Valencia oranges—a welcome gesture to first time patrons. And I stood there in the fog, surrounded by gratitude and fresh fruit and bread that gives back, and I felt something shift.

Twenty Years Ago

The last time I felt this exact feeling was at Miraval in Tucson, Arizona. It was over 20 years ago. I couldn’t afford to stay there either – but I bought a day pass. Spa treatments. Yoga. Walking meditation. All of it.

Miraval had affirmations everywhere. On signs. In doorways. On plaques in the sidewalk. Everywhere you walked, there was something to think about. Something to pause over. One of them was about mindfulness.

At the time, I didn’t really understand the word. I’d always used the word aware. That’s what I thought spirituality was – being aware of things. Noticing. Observing. But standing there at Miraval, reading that plaque, I realized something: Mindful isn’t the same as aware.

The Shift

To me, aware is passive. It’s noticing. Observing. Seeing the speed limit is 55. Mindful is active. It’s aware plus action. It’s seeing the speed limit is 55… and actually driving 55. It’s the completion of the loop.

You’re not just conscious of something – you’re doing something about it. You’re opening the door for someone. You’re buying the bread. You’re stopping instead of rushing past. It’s awareness made whole.

Ever since that day at Miraval, I stopped using the word “aware.” I started saying mindful instead. And it changed everything. It changed how I moved through the world. It changed what I paid attention to. It changed what I valued.

I didn’t realize how much it shaped the last 20 years until I was standing in the fog at The Golden Door Country Store, holding a loaf of bread that helps end child abuse, reading a chalkboard full of gratitude.

Full Circle

One spa sparked a word change. Another spa – two decades later – reminded me why it mattered.

Standing there last weekend, I wasn’t learning something new. I was being reminded of something I’d been living all along. The back roads. The intentional stop. The bread. The pause. I’ve been living mindfully for 20 years. But I needed to be reminded of my mindfulness. I needed to reflect on how much that one shift – from aware to mindful – has meant.

The Golden Door didn’t teach me anything I didn’t already know. It just gave me a moment to stop. To feel that feeling again. To look back and see how far one word can take you.

Remindful

I’ve never heard the word “remindful” before. But that’s what this was. A reminder to stay mindful. To keep completing the loop. To keep choosing action over passive observation.

Because awareness is beautiful. But mindfulness? That’s where the magic happens. That’s where you take the back road instead of the freeway. Where you pause in the fog. Where you let 20 years come full circle in a moment.

One spa gave me a word. Another spa reminded me what it meant.

What About You?

Where are you in this? Are you aware of things… or are you mindful of them? Are you noticing the speed limit, or are you actually driving it? Are you seeing the opportunity, or are you stopping to engage with it?

Awareness is the beginning. Mindfulness is the completion. And sometimes, we need to be remindful – reminded to keep completing the loop.

What’s your word? Share your thoughts on IG @remixology