Now

It’s October. The first of October. The first day of the holiday season. It’s going to go quickly now.

Halloween candy has moved to the front of the grocery store. Chances are good the streetlamp Christmas toppers will go up before the goblins get to march. By December 26 we’ll be seeing hearts and fireworks.

But I digress. For the moment, just this moment I will breathe and be here.

The ocean, only 45 minutes from my house, is my reset button. I don’t come here often enough.

I can try to think of Santa and stockings and Christmas lists as I gaze at the ocean, but the gentle then loud then gentle crashing of the waves brings me back to now. I can wonder about flight arrangements, recipes and party favors but my attention to these matters is no match for the surf. I am entranced. Front and center. The gulls, a stones throw away, sound distant and mystical. A voice, carried on the wind dissipates before fully reaching my ears. The salt lightly flavors the air that I consume in gulps, seasoning my lungs, coating my nerves, calming the crazy.

It’s the sea that holds me. As mesmerized as I am by the rhythm of the crashing waves I am completely captivated in that moment when the ocean grows silent. The waves suspended, nature regrouping. I am at once stilled by the silence and anticipating the return of the rhythm. Summoning all its strength to pull together particles of sand, salt and water, the perfect wave is formed and the symphony is reborn.

Random, beautiful, powerful nature. No where else does it show it’s personality so clearly than the sea.