“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever,” Jacques Cousteau. Today the skies are gray and purple with rain, the ocean’s music loud and boisterous, the pewter water slapping the sandy beach with a bass drum beat. My dearest friend and I, drawn by the ocean’s maternal heart beat, sat on the beach in our red woven chairs, wrapped up in sweaters and beach towels, content to gaze on the ocean’s glory as the deep gray and purple clouds rolled across the heavens gathering for a stormy morning.

We laughed as the storm wind punished our legs and face with pellets of beach sand diamonds. An occasional burst of tear drops from heaven made us shiver and finally pushed us up the beach back to our condo. As far down the beach as we could see on each side of us, we were the only fools sitting out in the cold blustery wind, gusting up to 23 miles per hour, but we didn’t travel 457 miles to sit in the condo. We loved it! We never could have walked back in that stout wind without my nieces help. My hair blew straight back. Can’t even get a brush through it! But we enjoyed the view for almost two hours before we gave up.

Robert Wyland writes, “The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” Jesus loved the ocean and often preached to the disciples and the crowds from a boat. I always feel the heartbeat of the earth as the undulating waves kiss the shores and I’m sure Jesus had a love of the ocean. We read in Matthew of Jesus sitting by the Sea of Galilee to teach. Such a large crowd gathered on the beach, he had get in a boat to preach so the crowd could hear him. Jesus also appeared to the disciples on the beach after his resurrection.

We can compare God to the vastness of the ocean by his strength and his power, his deep unconditional love. God’s power can be stormy or calm, just as the ocean can kiss the beach in calm waters or slam the shore in a storm. Rainer Maria Rilke sums up the tranquil healing of the majestic ocean. “When my thoughts are anxious, restless and bad, I go to the seaside, and the sea transforms them with its great wide sounds, purifies them with its noise, and imposes a rhythm on everything that is confused and confused in me.”

To Mother Earth and her glorious oceans, and all my friends and loved ones, as the ocean waves lull me to sleep tonight, I give you this Apache Blessing —“May the sun bring you new energy by the day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”

“To sit in silence at the shore, watch the waves and hear the surf, is to appreciate the very breath and heartbeat of the earth.” — Doe Zantamata