Found on the Beach

Something happens when we go to the beach.

When we start sifting through the sand and the piles of debris tossed up by the sea...

We're never sure what we will find.

But we know if we show up every day, rain or shine, when the tide is low...

We are rewarded by the magic that occurs in this transitional space.

Where land and sea mix together in an endless dance of creativity and expression.

An ecosystem at play, re-making itself day in and day out to accommodate the elements that act upon it.

The beach is the great eraser.

What was there yesterday, will not be there today.

And what we bring to the beach...our worries, our fears, the self-imposed pressures of our modern life...

are erased too...

Blown away in the wind, swept away in the surf...beaten out of us in time to the rhythm of the waves.

And what is left is pure treasure.

An opening.

To the purest essence of our true selves.

And our busy, complicated lives seem ridiculous and mis-directed when face-to-face with the marvels that have washed ashore to teach us our lesson.

And we feel humbled here amongst the crustaceans, the corals and the marine animals that share this world with us...this sand and sea.

We leave the beach with a blank slate:  a renewed spirit.  A profound peace.  And a re-commitment to all that is most important.  

And we take with us a bit of the beach...the shells of cockles, conchs, urchins and scallops...

To remind us that there is the greatest beauty in the smallest of things.

That what we do and who we become is less important than what we leave behind. 

Happy 16th birthday Jack.