I am letting the ocean do its work. Many, including myself, come to the ocean's shore to reflect and seek solace. Why is the ocean is such a comfort to our soul? Watching the waves crash endlessly on the shore and wondering at its enormity inspires nothing less than awe. Perhaps it is because of our close relationship with water. Indeed, "Water is the very stuff of life." We don't think about it every day, but we would quickly perish without this essential molecule. Water is so incredibly important from a biological standpoint that my Biology classes spend several periods studying its unique properties. There is no other molecule in the known universe with its versatility and uniqueness and these qualities have allowed life to flourish on our planet. Our understanding of life and its dependence on water means that we look for evidence of water on planets or moons as a precursor to supporting life. (Pardon the slight cheese factor at the end of this video, but you get the idea.)
The places that we go to connect with our spiritual and natural selves are often bodies of water or places nourished by its presence. We seek tranquility in the forest, the rivers, and the ocean. The life that we are now manufacturing on our planet often divides us from these natural places. And so, we go to them when we seek to process the events in our lives.
Perhaps when we look at the waves we remember our own smallness. When life's events are too much to comprehend, too much to bear, too much to explain, this smallness can provide comfort. The ocean or the night sky remind us that there is something bigger than ourselves and its enormity can swallow our heartache. As we lead our busy little lives with blinders firmly in place, the waves relentlessly continue their onslaught of the shore until we once again take pause to remember.
And just because...
(My Dad used to play an old Sons of the Pioneers tape on car trips. Gotta love it.)
