There is something so peaceful and calming about the beach, for me. I L-O-V-E the beach. Day or night, whether I'm sitting on the sand or the boardwalk, I just love to stare at it and reflect. It's my spot for occasional meditation, reflection, introspection, unwinding, decompression; the list can go on. But apparently I'm not alone. The more I tell this to people the more they tell me they, too, love the beach (but not as much as me of course). So this got me thinking about why? A few ideas popped up, but nothing really went deep enough so as not to lead to more "whys." Finally, I arrived at an answer I feel encompasses all aspects of not only why I love the beach, but why I am mesmerized by most parts of nature (earth, wind, fire- no not the music group, the actual elements of nature).
All 4 'types' of nature- earth, wind, fire and water- are each very powerful physical forces within themselves. Fire- pretty self explanatory; Wind- just take Hurricane Irene's impact on the East Coast of the U.S. for example, a few million people were without power, many for days on end; Water- again the flooding in the aftermath of Irene can serve as an example, or the Tsunami in Thailand, either way we see the power water has; lastly Earth- take the earthquake in Haiti or Japan, or the more recent one in Virginia (which b"H did not have as disastrous effects, but still left many people concerned). Each facet of nature is so powerful in its own right. Powerful enough to sweep houses away, flood streets, knock down trees, rip apart highways and landscapes, decimate forests. I think that on a level below (or maybe above, depending on your perspective I guess) our conscious thought, sitting, watching and reflecting on any or all of these entities gives us a smidge of perspective on the Almighty, which is an apropos name of His to use here I think. When I look at the ocean and hear the waves crashing on the shore every few seconds, or when I walk along the boardwalk and feel the wind blowing through my hair or even at times pushing my body from side to side, on some level this makes me think of HKB"H and how unbelievably powerful (all powerful I might add) He is. We can take this just one small step further and add that one thing (of the many) included in being Omnipotent (a fancy word for all-powerful) is His having control over each one of these beautiful parts of nature that I mentioned. He rules the ocean, the wind, the earth and fire. All of these are like little paintbrushes in His hand, as it were. He is the conductor composing a masterpiece of a symphony, the likes of which Beethoven or Mozart, Bach or Schumann has never and will never hear. (I told you I loved music too right?)
While all of this has the potential to be quite overwhelming, there is a part of it that is so reassuring and calming as well. Sort of like the ocean- calm, yet mighty and strong. He runs the world. He's got it all under control which gives me the ability to sit back a bit and enjoy the view. Of course I must be involved in my own life. Things don't just happen if I don't make some sort of effort, but ultimately He has the paintbrush of my life and your life and the entire world!
Funny how I'm writing this as it is pouring outside and I can hear the raindrops pelting my roof. Coincidence?
