In The Sun (Walk On Water)

Zora Neale Hurtson was once quoted saying, "Don't you realize that the sea is the home of water? All water is off on a journey unless it's in the sea, and it's homesick, and bound to make it's way home someday." You see, I took this photo on my most recent vacation for some time alone for peace and quiet... or whatever it is people go away for (I was quite hesitant to leave the city then as I had so much work to do and I felt I was not in shape for the beach...) But then in one peaceful moment, I realized that we are all like water. We are off to a journey to return to ourselves. Some journeys have taken us far afield, and many of our days have been absorbed by the sandy riverbanks that contain us. Yet we continue to flow- heavy and swollen in the spring of our lives and then often reduced to a trickle as we approach the fall of our years. "Return, return, return," we murmur as we tumble over the stones in our paths, ever cognizant that although we may wander through new and strange lands, our destination is a return. I realized that- water has to return to the sea, just as I have return to me.

 

The time I set out for some peace and quite has enabled me to return to myself even if I had to go away to do so. I needed time alone. Alone time is absolutely essential to a human being. Many of us have been afraid to be alone. We are afraid that if someone else is not around, no one will be present. When we have lost the awareness of ourselves (I did, I must admit on more than one occasion for a long period of time), we try to fill up our time with work, being busy, food, partying, and other people. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I have to say, it becomes a recipe for disaster when we use these external forces as an escape and a distraction from who we are.

 

 Sometimes, as hard as it is to admit, we have been afraid to sound our own depths. We have been afraid that we would look inside and find no one there. Yet, when I had that first awareness of "rediscovering my spirit" I have come to realize that there is someone there, inside of me, who is well worth knowing. There is no way to know ourselves unless we set time aside to explore. We need to nurture and protect having our alone time even when it seems difficult. 

This will be the last of the series of my beach posts from my last trip. I was able to realize though that my alone time is as essential to my spirit as food, sleep and exercise are to my body. I can only hope that upon returning to the hustle and bustle of everyday, I am able to remember that. 

Black Bikini: Glitterati | Black and White Cap: Rip Curl | Slippers: Havaianas | Sunglasses: Anthology | Watch: O'Clock

xx, JL