(I am back to blogging. My hiatus was accompanied by lots of journaling - but I'm finding it too tedious to have to copy into my notebook all the poetry and quotations with arthritic hands. We'll see how this goes.)
This morning I took a long walk on Hampton Beach. I almost didn't head there this morning, as there was thick fog and rain was threatening. I am glad I ended up there - as often happens, the weather, the beach, the sea, all spoke in metaphor to my condition today.
The fog was so thick I could not see more than a few feet into the beach - I could not tell if the tide was high or low, and I could barely hear the waves. I was reluctant to venture out into the mist, but I kicked off my flip-flops and headed into the cool, freshly raked sand.
About ten steps in, and I could not see the sidewalk I had just left. I still couldn't see the ocean, and I felt myself in an uncomfortable place between two worlds. Most likely because of the heavy mist around me, the separation felt tangible. I kept on walking, wondering when I would see the water. The sand became smoother, wetter, and soon I saw the stones and heard the waves.
This morning was a very low tide, and I had to walk out even further to the ocean. I turned around, and could not see any sign of the boardwalk, my car, or much of the sand. What surprised me, and made me smile, is what I did find.
At the ocean's edge, there were people - lots of them! We beach walkers are a strange bunch - rising to greet the dawn when others are still sleeping, and there is an unsaid sort of understanding as we nod in greeting to each other as we pass on the beach. Its own kind of community, people joined in their love of the ocean and cool mornings and peace.
Today's reflective moments for me all centered around community, unknowing, risks, and how we find ourselves. I feel right now like I am on some sort of journey, and the next steps, and the meeting of the community, cannot happen unless I am willing to venture out and lose sight of the shore. And there on this misty morning, the community was waiting for me.
In the Fog
This morning I took a long walk on Hampton Beach. I almost didn't head there this morning, as there was thick fog and rain was threatening. I am glad I ended up there - as often happens, the weather, the beach, the sea, all spoke in metaphor to my condition today.
The fog was so thick I could not see more than a few feet into the beach - I could not tell if the tide was high or low, and I could barely hear the waves. I was reluctant to venture out into the mist, but I kicked off my flip-flops and headed into the cool, freshly raked sand.
About ten steps in, and I could not see the sidewalk I had just left. I still couldn't see the ocean, and I felt myself in an uncomfortable place between two worlds. Most likely because of the heavy mist around me, the separation felt tangible. I kept on walking, wondering when I would see the water. The sand became smoother, wetter, and soon I saw the stones and heard the waves.
This morning was a very low tide, and I had to walk out even further to the ocean. I turned around, and could not see any sign of the boardwalk, my car, or much of the sand. What surprised me, and made me smile, is what I did find.
At the ocean's edge, there were people - lots of them! We beach walkers are a strange bunch - rising to greet the dawn when others are still sleeping, and there is an unsaid sort of understanding as we nod in greeting to each other as we pass on the beach. Its own kind of community, people joined in their love of the ocean and cool mornings and peace.
Today's reflective moments for me all centered around community, unknowing, risks, and how we find ourselves. I feel right now like I am on some sort of journey, and the next steps, and the meeting of the community, cannot happen unless I am willing to venture out and lose sight of the shore. And there on this misty morning, the community was waiting for me.
In the Fog
It's strange to wander in the fog!
A lonely bush, a lonely stone,
No tree can see the other one,
And one is all alone.
The world was full of friends back then,
As life was light to me;
But now the fog has come,
And no one can I see.
Truly, no one is wise,
Who does not know the dark
Which inevitably and silently
Does from others him part.
It's strange to wander in the fog!
Life is loneliness
No Man knows the other one,
And one is all alone.
- Hermann Hesse
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