Serenity-A Gift from the Sea

There is a certain disconnect when living in campgrounds, especially those without television.  You don’t care what’s going on the Middle East nor who is killing whom over in the next big metropolitan area.  Even the country’s ongoing economic distress fades-brought to mind only when passing multiple “for sale” signs adorning the same street.  Occasionally there is a desire to know what is going on with the weather, but only with regard to how it will affect the current location in the next few days.

Wells Beach, Maine

Jim walking toward the rising sun and the sea.

 A short drive to the ocean just past sunrise punctuates the pleasure of being outside with a warm cup of just brewed coffee. Simple things like beach sand swirled into patterns by the receding sea water at low tide bring to mind comparisons to the Sahara Desert or the Grand Canyon or the Mississippi Delta patterns seen from above but formed here in miniature.  Snails weave in slow curves through their watery world either submerged in tidal pools or upon the yet damp beach sand, making patterns in the sand resembling the strokes of calligraphy.  What sea stories do these tiny sojourners wish to convey?  These are the soothing experiences that make up a morning living in a campground by the sea.

Feeling the coolness of the sea water.

Sahara sand dunes in miniature.

"Cottages" by the seaside.

Remains of an ice age caressed by the sea.

There is a serenity (a calmness if you will) that seeps into life.  Shoulders feel less tense.  The world seems filled once again with the entertaining mysteries not unlike those that capture a child’s attention.  Now as in the past, the outdoors has its draw and imagination fills one’s thoughts.  Divinity is a real and palpable experience within a world solely focused on the immediate surroundings of nature.

What do you write to me little snail?

The delta-like pattern the sea leaves in the sand.

Returning to our RV, the cool, clean breeze of early Sunday morning carries the sounds of waking children and the aroma of coffee and maple syrup.  By any measure, “Life As It Should Be” as the saying goes in Maine.