I look forward to my beach walks every summer. The patterns the tides sculpt in the sand are among the greatest works of art I’ve encountered. The sheer power of the water to work its way upon the land. There’s a timeless wisdom at work that is single-minded in its focus, and offers lessons for my own over-burdened multi-tasking life.
This year, as always, when I walked with the waves lapping at my ankles I couldn’t help but pick up some of the shells that I encountered along the way. I don’t know why I do this. I have bags of shells from years past sitting in boxes in my studio. Waiting. Waiting. For what, I ask? But still I pick them up as I walk, and it occurs to me that they, too, are calling out important lessons for me to learn - three I know, for sure.
Lesson 1: “The farther you go from the crowds on the beach, the bigger the shells you find.”
Wow! That IS a big one. How often, I ask myself, do I stay with the ‘crowd,’ satisfying myself with small things – telling myself that this may be small;, but it’s perfect and I should be ‘satisifed’, when I could be doing BIG things, making huge discoveries, having bigger impact, opening up a larger world of greater abundance. Now that’s a really good reason to strike out ahead, to venture where there may be less company but so much greater rewards to discover.
Lesson 2: “If you see something that catches your eye, pay attention, dig it out, and you may be surprised at
the size of the shell you find.” Now that happened exactly that way for me. A tiny tip of lovely color, examined more closely and nudged from the shifting shore, revealed the largest shell of all! I have learned to pay attention to things that catch my attention. Call it intuition. Call it serendipity. Or just call it plain ol’ keeping your eyes open. When something catches my eye – whether it be a special article of clothing or an article in the newspaper, it it ‘speaks’ to me, I’ve learned to trust that there’s something there for me to follow. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why I met the man of my dreams at a party called ‘Serendipity’ on a Saturday night all those years ago. Take my advice girlfriend: if you get a sign, read it and pay attention!
Lesson 3: “There is beauty even in broken shells.”
For me, this may be the biggest lesson of all. Ever searching for the perfect: the perfect gift, the perfect words to say, the perfect life – I often find myself critically examining the treasures the sea has placed in my path. Oh, no. There’s a crack, a hole, a piece missing. But why is it only the whole and the unblemished that I’ll accept in my gathering? That broken shard of oyster shell, lined with iridescent mother of pearl glistens with beauty – ah, ‘mother’ of pearl – is a piece of that which has nurtured great beauty. Three shells clumped together with built-up barnacles reminds me of our family of three - individually quite different but connected in a solid and enduring way. Instead of passing by the imperfect that the sea has put in my path, I find myself looking for the beauty of what it offers. Less judging. More accepting.
This year, more than ever, I looked forward to our week at the beach. Quiet time with limited duties. Nothing more strenuous than making sandwiches for lunch and deciding where to make reservations for dinner out. It’s as close to single-tasking as I’m likely to get anytime soon with a family, two businesses and all that goes along with. But who knew that my few solitary walks on the beach would yield such wisdom and insight? It makes me wonder what I might find in my own backyard when I return home.I may not be able to take the beach with me, but I hope I will remember my walks and how they’ve taught me to slow down, listen, and pay attention to what lessons there are to learn if you’ll only take time to look.
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