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I went to the beach with my friends while here in California. I sat on the shoreline, listening to the waves crashing endlessly against the fine-grained sand, and felt the film of sea salt coat my lips. Children frolicked in the waves, and dogs paraded up and down the beach with their owners, chasing rubber balls and Frisbees.
I munched silently on handfuls of peanut M&Ms and watched the seagulls soaring overhead, their cries caught in the salty breeze and whisked away. After some time, I moved quietly down to the frothy water and submerged my feet in the coolness of an ocean thousands of miles across. The waves danced around my ankles and eddied back and forth with a thousand flashes of broken light across its surface
I was touching water touching all the continents of the Earth. I never before felt so connected to this world around me.
I smiled and moved from the breaking waves, feeling the parched sand gripping my sodden feet as I walked back from the water’s edge to the blanket farther up on the shore. I sat down and sprawled back in the California sun, soaking up its warmth and golden richness. I felt that I could have sat there all day long.
And though I soon became burned on my legs, arms, and face, I couldn’t help but look back on that moment as one of wonderful introspection. My red-hot skin a reminder of the moment I had connected with the world, and the world with me.
20 comments:
I am just glad u didn't submerge your body in our filthy water... btw was it overcast? those are some of the worst days to get a sunburn...
Nothing like spending time on the beach. It is so refreshing.
You just made me want to sit on the beach in a really bad way....
That didn't come out right.....
LOL! It's all in the perspective right??
There is nothing like spending a day (or more) at the beach. So relaxing.
We're headed there for a week beginning this Friday. Thanks for setting the mood...
=)
I've got the heat... but none of the sand or breeze... dang.
and believe it or not, my first date with ManOfTheHouse was to the Toad the Wet Sprocket concert... I love that song :) (and yes, I DO realize how badly that gives away my age...)
That is my absolute fav Toad song. =)
I may be stuck in the heartland, but I was born to be near the sea. We visited the Oregon coast last year. When we left my daughter said it hurt to leave...I understood her perfectly.
Ahhh. Toad the Wet Sprocket. I have such fond memories of college related to this music! It transports me to that time and place so instantly. I love that you had a chance to just "be" that day.
Okay, this was great, but it is so funny, because I was totally thinking of that Toad song while I was reading it.
Its all in the connection, Im feelin ya Teachinfourth, there is nothing like going beyond the normal range of senses and discovering a connection to so much more, to our Earth and its inhabitants. Great Post
"I was touching water touching all the continents of the Earth. I never before felt so connected to this world around me."
That's EXACTLY how I feel when I'm in the ocean! I have a post somewhere on my blog about always wanting to be a mermaid! LOL Great post!
Never thought about that way.
Great memories are now dancing in my head reflecting on how mom just loved the ocean. In fact any body of water was her home, but her real love was the ocean with its crashing waves and endless beauty. Loved walking on the beach with her at sunset...think I will go for a little cry... Thanks for refreshing my memories.....
K - It was clear out and hot and cold and wonderful.
Y - That is so true. I don't go to the ocean very often so this was a real treat for me.
R - LOL. Enough said.
N - it makes me wish that there was an ocean near Utah…
S - Hope your trip is awesome with a twist of relaxing.
T - TTWS was an amazing band…my sister introduced them to me back in the 90s and since then, this song plus "All I Want" have become a connection to those years…
J - I was going through my Toad songs the other day and made a playlist…I'd forgotten just how many simply AMAZING songs they'd written.
F - I know that I don't allow myself 'be' days as often as I should…
C - It must be that 'great minds' thing all over again.
B - Thanks. It's funny that I feel connected through blogging as well…but differently.
T - I guess one could say the same thing about touching land as well. In reality, this planet is one big piece of land all connected in a chain underneath.
Y - I hadn't either…
MW - Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to feel good as well as bad.
M & M's on the beach...could life get any better?
Love that ocean. Love the mountains, too. Nothing like how time spent in either one renews and relaxes the soul.
Rachel...there are just no words for you, girl. There was a really drunk couple at VA Beach spending the day on the beach in a really bad way. It was sort of gross, actually. I don't recommend. ;)
The ocean, the sun, and peanut M&M's. Sounds like the combination for an awesome day. Glad you enjoyed it.
sounds like a wonderful time. except that burn. ; (
looking up the book you recommended, on my blog.
: )
You described it so well. I'm glad you're enjoying your vacation... I really need to get back down that way before too long.
It was awesome…I went back again yesterday and the day before. It wasn't as warm as it was further south, but it was so awesome to stand there and feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer size of that body of water.
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