Cnidaria Scyphozoa Aurelia by Maddie Sullivan
We were cuddled on the couch watching TV not really noticing the sweet, soothing sound of the waves and the sharp angled rays of the late afternoon sun. It was high tide which doesn't leave much sand to walk on. At least not flat sand I whined. My daughter pushed me and off we went.
We hadn't seen each other for awhile and it was an easy discussion to catch up in between dipping our toes into the bathtub-like sea and commenting on why a peculiar bird stood with it's left leg tucked up inside it's belly and his beak burrowed within it's right wing feathers. So we tried to stand the same way and surely appeared as if we were trying to "walk like an egyptian."
As we made the turn to head back our face's were met with a stiff breeze and we tucked our chins into our necks and strolling more quickly started to notice a fish here and there jumping out of the water. Then a wave curled and the sun revealed to both of us at the exact same time an entire school of fish within it. DID YOU SEE THAT?!? AMAZING!! Look at all the FISH!?! We stood there mesmerized and pointing as our vocal chords made excited sounds on and off. Then another loud LOOK!?! as we saw a large sand shark lurking just near the break water under the fish and then just as quickly disappeared. We looked at each other and squealed, SHARK!
Mullet Surfing by Maddie Sullivan
After about ten minutes we thought we'd seen it all and started to walk away when more motion caught our attention and this time it was dolphin. Now there are always dolphin on our beach. Usually they swim in small families of three or four but here, today, right there in front of us was the largest pod of dolphin we had ever witnessed. There were at least twenty. Maybe more. Many were doing the job of circling the fish while the others were enjoying an easy dinner. We were again caught in the moment.
We noticed without speaking the way the low setting sun caught the shine of the dolphins bodies as they surfaced, jumped and spun around. The way the water no longer was one color or tone but carried with it the colors of its very life from within. Nothing stays still, energy and beauty and life exploded at us and we knew we were witnessing something truly special and our smiles were as wide as ever. I noted the date. October 15, 2010. Try to remember this date I muttered. It is a good day. It is warm, sunny and life abounds. Drink it in.
We all have those days when our job, be it in its most general sense a teacher or a student, seems to be filled with the mundane needs of human survival and impedes our ability to appreciate the actual moments passing us by. And sometimes, to help us with perspective, we just need to take a walk (and no it doesn't have to be on a beach) to really stop and see the beauty that surrounds us. Love. Light. Life. The openness, breathing in the fresh air and then the ease of it all stays with us as we return to our lives, our couches yawning as our body truly relaxes and we drift back carrying the beauty with us. The yellowfish of life. Walk on!
P.S. I've added a must-watch video called, "Why Beauty Matters" - to the right on my blog. check it out.
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