Title Logo: Bits & Pieces in blue with a swish line under the words

The ocean and I have a love-hate relationship. I live in the paradox of longing for the healing powers of the salt water and fear of the ocean’s strength.

Waves rush in, bringing hope and healing.

The day water and I collided began as a fun afternoon splashing, laughing with delight. Until—someone pushed too hard, or I bounced too high. My eyes open, watching hands and feet, bodies rushing past as I fell into the blurry abyss. 

I took a breath. Water sucked in. Fear gripped.

To this day, I don’t know if it was that moment of confusion in a strange environment, or the hysteria of my mother when my dad pulled me out of the water. What if they had taught me to swim?

My love of water remains conflicted, but waves keep calling. From the shore, the ocean calms my tangled mind. Our relationship sealed with understanding the boundaries. The beach serves as our friendly mediator.

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
—Jacques Cousteau

Memories

backlit view of the sun over the beach with two children and a dog in the dark shadows

A  ferry shuttled us across the bay to the peninsula where the house on tall pilings waited. Salt spray, the piercing warning horn, and laughing gulls  bombarded our senses as we jumped out of the car. 

The lighthouse surrounded by three houses greeted us like an old but rusty friend. She signaled the beginning of new memories, hope. 

I cherish those moments spent with our children and friends. Running into the waves, buiding drip sandcastles, quiet evening walks, and the unrelenting breeze softening the day’s heat.

The lighthouse on Boliver peninsula stands behind the marsh surrounded by thee wooden houses on stilts with a blue sky

Healing Powers

Sight

“Staring at the ocean actually changes our brain waves’ frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state,”
—Richard Shuster, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist

The color blue, in all its shades and hues, consistently finds its way into my surroundings. That might explain my obsession with the sky as well as the ocean. The therapeutic qualities of the sapphire seas and azure skies may entice me to take notice.

the beach at Turks and Caicos with the beige sand, turquoise shades of water , blue sky, and a line of grey clouds and pal friends in the lower left hand corner

Smell

“There’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.”
—Sarah Kay

I breathe deeply. The smell of the salt air absorbs the negative ions, calms my brain, and erases the tension gripping my body. I relax. I listen. The wonder of the ocean does its work.

waves rolling onto the shore at sunset with pink and grey clouds against a blue sky

Sound

“These slow, whooshing noises are the sounds of non-threats, which is why they work to calm people. It’s like they’re saying: ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry.'”
—Orfeu Buxton, Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University.

I can attest to the hypnotic nature of the waves rolling onto the shore and returning to sea. Nothing puts you to sleep quicker.

The seagulls and pelicans bring their own music. The playful cacophony of laughing gulls hovering for a handout tempts the most timid human to share a bite of their lunch. Pelicans swoop gracefully and nosedive into the salty sea to grab a personal feast.

two photos divided by a black space, on the left, brown pelicans sit on the pier above blue waters and beneath a blue sky; on the right a flock of seagulls hover over the sandy beach with a bright blue sky and thin white clouds

Peaceful Sunsets

The day ends with promise and hope. Sunsets seal the day and remind me that my love and fear have found peace.

“We are tied to the ocean.
And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch –
we are going back from whence we came.”
—John F. Kennedy

Sunset on Galveston Bay with the sun a bright white with rays reaching out to the clouds and reflecting on the ocean surface

And always—

Be kind. Be brave. Be you.

Photos © Kathryn LeRoy