Countless Layers of Silvery Deep

The ocean has been in the news a lot lately. You can’t look at the headlines and not see the image of the Titan submersible, missing for days before finally being declared destroyed and the crew presumably deceased. It is a sad event, and definitely not what we had hoped the results of the search would be. It is a reminder that the ocean is not only beautiful—it is also deadly, and unpredictable, and cares nothing for who you are and how much money you have. It is an unforgiving, tempestuous world that is familiar to us but yet totally foreign.

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach lately. I love the beach, I always have. It’s relaxing, and beautiful. There is a sense of majesty here, of endlessness. The water stretches into the horizon, far too far away for us to ever see the end on the other side. Layers of light, and foam, and blue waves. And underneath, a whole different world. What lays there, deep underneath the surface? Shipwrecks, of course. Unimaginable creatures. Lost cities? There is so much to wonder about.

Today is Sunday, and I try to reflect and think about peace and positivity on this day. And so today I’m not thinking so much about the dangers below the surface. Instead I’m switching gears a bit and I’m watching the surf, the foam and the seashells that it deposits on the sand. It’s amazing how the sand looks almost silvery in the right light. When you look closely, you can see how many colors there are on a seashell. Such lovely patterns—soft pastels and iridescent black and pink and white. I look at a seashell and wonder, for how long has it been traveling? To what shores has it been, and to what depths? It’s kind of amazing, seeing something that has traveled so far and so deep. I watch the seashells as they are carried back into the depths. What new things are there to discover? What lovely new shells will visit us tomorrow, traveling through the salty water and washing up on the shores for us to find in the early morning? I can’t wait to see.

“But the sea
which no one tends
is also a garden” 
― William Carlos Williams

Have a great Sunday, I hope you have an inspiring and peaceful rest of the day!

-Winter