One of my favourite books gifted by a dear West Coast friend many years ago Is small, a real treasure and one I could never get myself to give away, place into the box deemed for the second hand book store or the little free library around the corner. Instead, it made its way across our vast country not long ago and it keeps “jumping” off the shelf into my hands regularly.
“Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh fits perfectly into my beach bag to bring along and get lost in for the afternoon. I would like to share one of my favourite passages with you here today:
“…some morning … the mind wakes, comes to life again. Not in a city sense -no- but beach-wise It begins to drift, to play, to turn over in gentle careless rolls like those lazy waves on the beach. One never knows what chance treasures these easy unconscious rollers may toss up, on the smooth white sand of the conscious mind, what perfectly rounded stone, what rare shell from the ocean floor. Perhaps a Channeled Whelk, a moon shell or even an Argonaut.
But it must not be sought for or -heaven forbid- dug for. No, no dredging of the sea bottom here. That would defeat one’s purpose. The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shown not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choice-less as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh‘s small book contains countless wonderful passages like the one I shared above. It is the perfect companion for a day I just want to spend time in one place near the water’s edge. Each time I let it fall open and let myself be pulled into the metaphors that serve as a starting point for my own contemplations.
May today offer new starting points for a week full of creativity and reflection.
Best wishes, Anna
Fundy Contemplations... 