Just like the sea...

Rocks and Sea by Paul Gauguin 

This summer I was in Spain sitting on the beach, enjoying the warmth and the sun. That summer I met him properly for the first time. I’ve seen him many times before, but never realized how much we have in common. I’ve always seen him with my eyes, but this summer I saw him with my heart. I created a bond with him, and that bond will never disappear. That summer, and specifically on that day on that beach, I met the sea properly for the first time.

The waves were crashing against the shore, in a rhythmic motion, leaving a foamy white behind and going straight back to the source from where the came. They’d touch my feet sometimes, and I’d curl my toes in reaction to the cold water touching my skin.

In and out the waves went. I sat there for hours, in silence, and all I could hear was the sound of the crashing waves, so relaxing so soothing; a pattern that didn’t change: in and out and back again.

In that silence I heard another sound. The sound of my own breath, in and out my breath went, so relaxing so soothing; a pattern that didn’t change: in and out and back again.

I suddenly felt it, a bond with the sea. I felt like my breath was mirroring the motion of the waves, as if we were both doing the same thing; being alive. We were both there, and at that point I felt like the only difference between us was that we were different life forms; one of the same, but different forms.

I guess we tend to forget that about ourselves sometimes. We are a life form. Just like all that is around us. And many times we find ourselves defining who we are with what we own, what we’ve been through, the titles we carry, our religion, our nationality, and many things that are far from the truth of who or what we actually are.

This connection that I established with the sea this summer, is perhaps one of the most important in my life now. I find myself going back to it many times. When I am angry, I try to soothe myself by focusing on that inward and outward motion of the waves, I relive it when I focus on my breath in and out; and before I know it, I am there again, on that beach, relaxed and happy. When I feel powerless, I remember the power that the sea possesses, and I can then clearly see mine. This connection reminds me that I am part of the universe. I feel like I am linked to the sea, the sky, the trees, the animals, other humans, and life forms through the life we share. 

The sea illustrates lessons that no book can ever capture so eloquently. The sea teaches us to be alive, just as it is alive.  I love sitting on the beach, spending time with the sea, breathing together, it takes me out of my world and into a harmonious hymn. One that mutes all uproars, and noises.

The sea is a life form, its simple, powerful, relaxed, genuine, spontaneous, and alive. Underneath all that we try to hide ourselves with, we are a life form, we are simple, powerful, relaxed, genuine, spontaneous, and alive…

The artist of this painting, Paul Gauguin, was in search for utopia, and he believed it could be found in primitive forms. He abandoned his family and started searching for something simpler than the western society he was living in. He explored the ideas of connection with the natural world, liberation from cultural norms, and nurturing creativity. Whether he found utopia or not, is debatable, but I I know I get a glimpse of mine when I see this painting. 

Gauguin's painting 'Rocks and Sea' whispers, it whispers: we are all just like the sea.