.JPG)
Copyright © 2014 by Ralph F. Couey
both image and written content.
The ocean draws me; inspires me. Heals me. To stand on the shore of a continent and gaze out to sea is to experience humility. And infinity.
Our planet is mostly water. So are we, for that matter. The life that evolved to be us arose from the oceans, and even today salt water flows through us. So it's perhaps not surprising that the allure comes from so deep inside of us.
The sounds of the sea inspire deep thought, or no thought at all, as the mind surrenders to the peace of one's soul. I don't know anything that is more peaceful than the rhythmic beat of the surf. An impulse, generated thousands of miles distant begins to rise as it approaches the shore. At a certain point the wave curls forward and the water falls to the sand with a sort of muffled "boom." Afterwards comes the hissing of the foam as it races across the sand, loses momentum, and slides back. The sound is soothing, the sight hypnotic. And it is endless. To listen to that steady beat is to feel release. All the sadness and anger, the burdens of life are released and replaced by a sense of balance; of peace.
At no time are one's emotions so touched as at sunset. The shadows lengthen and the light, filtered through the horizon, changes to a softer, more contemplative tint. The clouds along that horizon begin to pick up and reflect the sun's rays, turning them from white to burnished gold. On a calm day, that beautiful light is mirrored by the surface of the sea, and the whole world takes on a scintillating beauty found nowhere else.
It is a time and a place for reflection. People seek these moments when answers to difficult questions remain elusive. It is here that those answers reveal themselves, as gentle in their arrival as the soft breeze on velvety summer's night.
Eventually, we must turn away and return to the noisome clamor of our lives. We go, however, renewed and refreshed; imbued with a new sense of possibility. And submersed in a new serenity.
For it is in the murmur of the sea where we shall find the peace we seek.
2 comments:
I've been reading your blog off and on now for several years, first drawn to it while poking around the internet for information about some of my ancestors (I am Couey descendent via Andrew A Couey, an Andersonville Prison survivor). Just read this new posting and am deeply moved. I've live near ocean shores in Japan, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest for many years, and found my heart resonating with your words and their spiritual tone. Truly wonderful. Had to read them aloud to my wife! Thanks for sharing.
I've been reading your blog off and on for several years now, having first come across it while poking around the internet to find information about some of my ancestors (I'm a descendent of Andrew A. Couey, Andersonville Prison survivor). Have to comment about "The Sea and Serenity." Your eloquence transported me to some sandy and rocky sanctuaries along seashores where I've lived in Japan, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest. You captured very well the soul-restorative cleansing dynamic of spending time in the presence of such power. Had to disrupt my wife's own reading to share your words with her! My wife and I currently live in Eastern Washington where sage brush and sand speak only of ancient, distant water movements. We stand in our yard in the evenings and seek the ocean in the sunset skies on the western horizon. There's beauty here, but we miss what you so eloquently describe. Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment