I have just got back from a fun, spontaneous night away. I needed to escape from the regular routine of life I have subtly created for myself. I needed to find myself some space and just rest in a new environment.
I picked the south coast, because for me it’s always been my place for escape. It was my second home for many years when I first moved to KZN. I love the wild, rugged coastline with surprising rock pools teeming with life.
Walking along a quiet stretch of beach on Sunday morning, I opted to walk along the high tide line which was filled with ‘debris’. Along the way I started collecting bits of litter. Something I absolutely hate. As I walked along the shoreline, I was thinking how full of interesting things it was. A mixed bag full of small grains of sand, broken shells, dead sea life, coral and litter and how the sea just churns this up minute by minute. How powerful and ever changing the sea is.
I think that is one of the things I find so mesmerizing about the sea. You can stare at it for hours and never see the same wave form, you might be lucky enough to see dolphins or whales breeching and you never know what the sea may wash up.
It is constant in its everchangingness, incredibly powerful and can humble even the most competent swimmer, paddler or surfer with just one wave.
As I walked along the shore, I spotted a large shell in the distance and as I drew close, I was so excited that it was still in one piece: a large, weathered sea snail shell all in complete form. It had obviously had a long life to grow so big and solid, battered by the elements, but despite that, it was a reminder of steadfastness.
Somehow this shell had stood the test of time, it withstood the elements to enable it to grow into a solid shell, it was beautiful, marred with battle scars.
I’d had a bad dream the night before that one of my dreams in life, is actually stupid and that I was wasting my time trying to pursue something so tough and dangerous, wasting valuable time I could be using to grow my business or pursue relationships, travel the world etc. But this shell, in its solidarity, was a reminder for me that if we stand firm on solid ground and keep our eyes focused on the dreams and goals imprinted into the core of our being, always remembering that we are not in control, we will come through stronger than before.
We may accumulate battle scars and wounds along the way but it is those scars that make us beautiful and shape our character. There are parts that have been perfected in our search to strive and reach our full potential and bring glory to the one who gave us our dreams and talents. A gem amongst the shoreline, that stands out among the rest of the debris and that someone picks up and values as a treasure.