The Same Sea

This is the second installment of my series that I am calling my "diary" where I write about things inspired by my personal life. These are just personal anecdotes, things that I reccomend, etc.

Although I've lived by the beach my whole life, I don't go very often. Minimum, once a summer. My dad does an annual bonfire day where I go with him early in the morning to claim a pit, then stay until the beach closes at 10PM. It is easily a 10-12 hour day.

Recently, I've also been trying to get back in touch with the child within me and look for the whimsical things in life. Little bits of joy and color help me get through hard days. Blowing bubbles, having colorful furniture pieces, vibrant clothing pieces, fun decor, and frollicking in the rain puddles are some examples of ways I've been able to minimally brightening up my day.

One fun activity that I enjoyed at the beach was collecting cool looking shells.

The cover image of this post showcases all of the shells that I collected, and laying them all together had me thinking about the symbolism of the cracks, chips, discoloration, and variety within the shells.

We are all just shells tumbling around in the ocean, met with different walks of life like crabs, rocks, fish, dolphins, humans, other shells, etc. that can reshape who we are. We tumble around with the waves. We sink to the bottom of the sand. We are picked at by the birds, thrown against the rocks, washing up on shore to sit in the blinding sun until we are pulled back in again.

We never know what everyone goes through. We never see how the people around us began. We just see them now, with their open wounds, scars, and personality, and can't know anything else. You never really know what happened. You never really know how much or for how long the shells have been going through the relentlessness of the sea.

But even with how different our scars make us from each other, we are all still just as diverse from the start. There are so many different types of shells: colors, shapes, ridges, sizes. We are all unique and our experiences make us even more unique.

We are all vastly different, but come from the same sea. We all are born, share the planet, and are tossed into life to face our own challenges throughout the unwavering persistence of time.

Seeing the diversity within my shell collection reminded me of the beauty of time. The wear and tear you go through makes you who you are. And although you can never go back to the person you once were, and those scars will never truly heal back over, that's okay. Because it's never too late to re-find yourself again.

It's amazing the different types of things that wash up on shore. The ocean is so vast, you never truly know how long something has been in there for. Hours upon days upon weeks upon months upon years until it finally gets to shore and can rest. Even in a peaceful resting spot, like the beach, you get picked at by birds, children, or in this case: me. Some people even take them home, removing them from their natural environments that many probably don't ever return to.

I guess that could evolve into another conversation about humans touching and influencing nature, but we don't need to get into that.

Finding the whimsy in life in a good way to maintain positivity and its nice when a mundane activity can lead to the appreciation for life.

Thank you for your time!