Sand and typos.

I visited my home yesterday, where I was born and brought up. And, after a cultured  two hour drive on the motorway, discussing The Times (and, if you can believe it, I found a typo!) I found myself walking through sand, listening to my dad telling me a story of when he was little and came to the same place. As I breathed in the fresh air and felt the sand under my feet, I realised that this was exactly what I needed. It was therapeutic, and as I don't often visit my home town, to say it was nostalgic is an understatement.
It made me ask myself, am I in denial a little bit? Do I miss my childhood and yearn for it more than I'd like to admit? Going home... it reminded me of who I really am, how content I was as a child, and as I compared this memory to the person that was stood in the sand, I started to realise that maybe I'm starting to loose myself a little. It kind of made me wonder, we all change as we grow up, but what if I become someone that I don't like, and don't realise it? I have nothing that reflects a healthy image of myself back to me. Have I lost sense of what I believe in because I'm having to much fun breaking my rules?
 Are we all in denial for some reason or another? Do we protect ourselves from what we know to be true? I mean, everyone has flaws, but do we shield ourselves from this inner critic if we don't like something about ourselves or our lives? I try to live by the rule of 'don't like it: change it', but what if I'm not aware of what I don't like?
If you were to sit and think for a few minutes, what don't you like about the most important person in your life: yourself? And...why haven't you changed this? Maybe a certain Sub Editor of a certain newspaper should follow this advice...
Are our unconscious minds too good at blocking things out? Often, long train journeys make thoughts surface, thoughts that I didn't even realise I had. What would happen if we were to pay attention to these self critical thoughts? Could we change ourselves for the better?
I mean, we all know those people that we fantasise about slapping with wet fish. The ones that make us think 'how can you not realise how annoying you are?'; it's mind boggling how we perceive ourselves as being the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be, but to others, we all have annoying habits that surface eventually.
It's a wonder what a bit of sand can do, until it gets in your mouth, that is (I really don't know how these things happen, but it's along the same sort of lines as getting yoghurt on your ear, which, I can assure you, has never happened to me...)