*speechless*

[trinsy]

My college is on these cliffs right above the ocean, and today I walked down Hill Street and sat on a cliff just above the water.  It was the best thing I’ve done all year.

I’ve never appreciated the ocean before.  Maybe it’s because I grew up taking it for granted (it was always just 20-30 minutes away); more likely it’s because of all the horrible experiences I’ve had while swimming in it.  But for whatever reason, I never understood why my mid-Western relatives were always so enthralled with it.  To me, it was just a bunch of water.  Then I went to the cliff today.

I still don’t think anyone will ever really be able to explain the appeal of the ocean.  I certainly can’t.  All I can tell you is that there is something awe-inspiring about sitting on the edge of a cliff with the wind in your hair, watching thousands of gallons of water crash onto the giant, flat rocks below and then wash up to the shore, with the sun almost completely hidden in clouds, so that the only light is a bright, yellow glow reflecting on the water close to the horizon.  I have never felt so totally insignificant, and yet so completely certain that there was a purpose to my life.  Beauty penetrated me in a way that transcends words.

Amazing doesn’t even come close.

Comments

[anthoria.livejournal.com]

This is really late, but I completely understand that. I grew up in San Diego and then southern MA, so the ocean has always been a given. I never give it any thought until I'm near the water, when I know that I couldn't live away from it. I look at the waves lapping up against the rocks and sand and think of all the other nations it reaches, all the other people who look upon it. Seeing the vastness of it there's a sense of invigorating possibility. I think there must be a place for everyone in the haze over rim of the ocean.