Ocean's Edge
6th March 2000, 9:34am
Matilda Bay
The place where the land meets the water is where my soul calls home.
There's something very relaxing about sitting and watching the waves, hearing them breaking and dispersing on the shore. The breeze is strong but reassuring, comforting. The rays of the sun make the waters shimmer and sparkle like liquid gold, and my soul finds this scene just as valuable.
The wind carries a hint of saltiness. As it blows past me it feels strangely cleansing, as if the water itself were washing over me. I feel renewed after sitting here, even for just a short period of time.
The boats on the water are relaxing to watch. They sway and spin, seemingly chaotically, but all in accordance with the flow of the currents & the movement of the waves. Occasionally I hear the gentle tinkle of metal on metal, arhythmic yet melodic.
I see children running past me, I hear their happy excited voices calling to their mother. They run and play, but they will soon grow older and forget about places like this, opting for more synthetic entertainment. But perhaps they will return here later in life, as I have.
I was introduced to this place by a friend of mine last year. After we had lunch together she brought me here. We sat on a rock on the shore, watching the waves, watching the sea gulls in the sky, breathing the clean salty air.
We talked for what seemed like hours, and yet it still didn't seem like long enough. We talked about the world, about life, about love, about God, about pain... about everything. Set against the backdrop of the ocean, I felt my soul was recharged, cleansed, renewed.
I try to come here whenever I can. Sometimes I bring a friend, sometimes I come alone. Always I come to reflect. Now whenever I reflect on my life I picture myself here - in my mind, in my spirit - even if I'm not here physically. Whenever I need to talk to someone, I can close my eyes and my friend is sitting next to me with her reassuring words and her deep, insightful thoughts.
Maybe that's what God is like - you can close your eyes and He is there to listen, with reassuring words and deep insight. I choose not to look at it that way though. I find it satisfying just to know that the human mind is so amazing it can bring a distant friend to the same place as myself.
That is enough to leave my spirit revived.
