I went to the beach today.
And; I know. If you’re thinking “Who the hell goes to the beach in Canada on the last week of December?”, then two things:
1. You clearly haven’t been following me long enough; I do this kind of stuff all the time.
2. It was the warmest day of the week, it wasn’t bad.
My first stop was in the marshlands. They had this tower you could go up and look out from the top of. The sky was mostly overcast, with bits of blue peeking through. And the clouds were moving FAST.
It has rained the night before; which meant that every trace of anything having ever walked on the beach before was erased. It felt like walking on the moon. In the direction the wind was coming from, a thin slice of gold lit up the sky…
Knowing I was truly alone; I let music fill me as I walked. @jboogiejustin filtered in my earbuds, syncopated with the sounds of the surf and the buffering of the wind.
The coastline was golden and inviting, but dipping my hand in revealed it was anything but. Maybe if I had some heated towels and warms arms waiting for me in the car, I might have risked a swim. But not this time.
The clouds churned as I walked; the band of gold growing wider and wider. I headed south along the beach, knowing it could take me forever. I wasn’t going to get another workout today, so I walked until I got tired.
I found a heavy log nestled among some dune cliffs, and sat to meditate as the light grew.
As I sat, the light exploded around me as the sun shot through the opening in the clouds. Instantly everything felt warmer, and I closed my eyes, basking in its glow. This shot is completely unedited; the colours are exactly as they were.
The sun wasn’t long for this hemisphere; and though this was its first appearance of the day, it was ready to rest. The wind picked up, sending waves chopping upward as the sun lit them. The log was cold all alone, so I left it.
It seemed impossible to take a bad photo at this point, nearly everywhere I went seemed stunning. Walking back took much longer, I kept stopping to drink everything in.
As the sun crested the horizon, the water grew dark and glassy, a mirror refracting the dark swirling clouds above.
As I crossed the dunes, the magic faded behind me, and the sky drew dusky. A rustling caught my attention as I pulled my earbuds out. A red heart lay tangled in the branches of some driftwood. The air grew cold and crisp. I breathed deep and walked on.
Absolutely stunning, Ben. Brought me peace, beauty, and light in these troubled times. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Barbara!
Beautiful, beautiful pictures! The large picture on top the page is probably one of the most beautiful ocean scenes I’ve ever seen. Everything looks so vivid. I’m glad your enjoying yourself and not hesitating to enjoy nature whether you are with company or not. Nature is hard not to enjoy no matter what season it is. I just let the weather do what it wants. I enjoy seeing the view from my window even when its pouring down raining.
Here are two short videos to view each about 4 minutes long:
“The Wonder of Creation Declares God’s Glory—Water”
“The Wonder of Creation Declares God’s Glory—Patterns”
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/#en/mediaitems/VODBibleCreation/pub-ivwc_3_VIDEO
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/#en/mediaitems/VODBibleCreation/pub-ivwc_5_VIDEO
Thank you, Amy!