Sunday, September 22, 2013

#169. or, At The Ocean, Not On The Ocean.

  Sometimes, when I have a particularly frustrating day, which decides to compound itself into a full week of one thing after another, my mind tends to retreat into it's happy place. My mind spent a good deal of time in it's happy place this week.

  I have become a believer,  that the ocean can heal your soul. That might be a stretch for a farm boy who lives 14 hours drive from the nearest ocean, but the times that I've had at the ocean have been the most relaxing and rejuvenating vacations I've ever had.

  It hasn't always been that way. When I was younger, the ocean was a stinky place, that was damp and gloomy, where it rained more than the sun shone. In recent years however, I've found an ocean with wind rustling palm trees, and miles of beach to walk on bare footed as the waves lap at my feet. Even if I can't do that thing where you walk along just inside the water, as it goes back and forth, back and forth. That makes me queasy and I need to sit down. I like the water to be just about to my feet, and only occasionally washing over them. I can deal with that.

  So, I like being AT the ocean. I'm not all that fond of being ON the ocean.

  Truthfully, being on the ocean freaks me the hell out! We've all seen that picture on the internet of the guy on the paddle board as a giant majestic whale breaches the water mere feet where from he is. Beauty and oneness with nature. I own cows, and as much as you want to be friends with something that exponentially exceeds your body mass, it's probably not going to end well. I always wonder what happens after the picture, when the tsunami that free Willy just made tosses him into 1000 feet of unexplored depths. I bathed a dog in the bathtub once, there was water everywhere, trust me, that guy's going in the drink.

  Or how about surfboard guy, with the shark in the wave beside him. That looks like fun. Or not! I've been fishing before. With my dad, and as a dad with my son. You all know what fishing is? It's where you introduce a reasonable facsimile of the natural diet of a particular species of fish, in the hopes that it will entice that fish enough to be fooled into thinking it's lunch. That's surfing! Lets mimic the food source of the most efficient killing machine mother nature could devise, in the pursuit of paddling a glorified ironing board out into a series of waves with the intent of riding one of those waves to shore. Without losing a limb. Fun times.

  Maybe you're a free diver? One of those people who wear oversized flippers and tempt fate by seeing how deep they can dive without the aid of oxygen or pressurized suits, trusting that they are in tune with their bodies to the point they can get as deep as they can go, and return to the surface in one breath of oxygen without blacking out. Because if you pass out under water, it's not going to be pleasant. You're going to sink to the bottom of the ocean, be crushed into a pellet the size of a pea and end up being eaten by a fish with no eyes, a light bulb thingy hanging on a tentacle in front of it's face and more teeth than tail, created by a million years of evolution. I passed out at the Rotary Park in town once because I thought I was in tune with my body and how many beers I thought I could drink, and that was unpleasant enough. I'd rather not add being in the water to that scenario.

  The ocean that I know and love, and I dream about when I spend all day fixing my broke down combine, is one enjoyed from the shore. The sound of waves crashing on the beach, and the serenity of a cool breeze on my face as I stroll along with my toes in the sand. I like that ocean a lot. I've been thinking about that ocean quite a bit this last week.

  .........and now that it's on my mind, I generally have a mojito in my hand when I'm there as well. Perhaps soon. At the ocean, not on the ocean.



 

13 comments:

  1. I have never thought of surfing that way before, but your fishing analogy makes perfect sense. Excuse me a second while I go and cross surfing off my bucket list. OK, back again. I love the ocean, too, but don’t like being in the sun or the wind very much. I like the sounds of the waves and the seagulls, and I like gazing out to sea. A nice little shelter at the water’s edge with a beer in my hand is perfect for me.

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    1. Hey Marcy,

      I'm not sure, but perhaps if I had grown up nearer to the ocean, I might be a bit more comfortable with all of the mysteries of the deep. As it is though, I'd be happy to pull my lounger up, under a shady little palapa, and enjoy a beer with you. :)

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  2. As a die-hard prairie girl, I'm with you! Even swimming near the ocean's shore kinda freaks me out. I prefer just to look at the ocean too.

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    1. Hey Debra,

      Maybe us prairie kids need to keep at least one foot firmly planted in the dirt? :)

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  3. I'm grown up on a group of islands, to me there's nothing more healing than the ocean - too bad I'm not living anywhere near it right now. Both being on and at the ocean are gold worth to me.

    However, Jaws made me afraid of swimming alone - doesn't matter the ocean was too cold for sharks where I grew up. Regarding that matter, the ocean freaks me out. Other than that, I prefer the unexplored deapths of oceans to space - even if it's almost a tie.

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    1. Hey Annika,

      I hope there's some ocean for you sometime in your future.

      I think Jaws changed the minds of a lot of people from casually taking a dip in the ocean. At least in space, nothings trying to eat you........yet! :)

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  4. I get crabby if I go too long without seeing the ocean. I"m about an hour from it and make the trip once every few months.

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    1. Hi Stephen,

      I find that interesting. Is it because you grew up there, or is it something that developed as you went along? Either way, about an hour seems like a pretty nice excuse to get away for a peaceful afternoon. Perfect!

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  5. Ever since I watched that documentary about great whites where they had the underwater cameras set up to record a great white attack and they revealed that a surfboard was the perfect thing to use because from below it looks just like a seal... yeah you won't catch me surfing.

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    1. Hey Holly!

      Maybe when I was younger and more daring, surfing might have been a tad more appealing. Now that I'm older and wiser, there's far to many fruity umbrella drinks to sample. Who has time for life threatening physical activities? :)

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  6. That's how I feel about the ocean, too. It's so healing. I'm pretty luck I guess - I live a mile away from the ocean.

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  7. Dear Ken friend,

    I read this the day you posted it (from my phone, hence the dely in replying) and just had to smile. You KNOW I have a 'thing' for the ocean. It truly does heal my soul, and restores what I've lost, and rests my weary bones. I'm the one that cries when I leave (and some times I cry when I get there from sheer relief, like seeing a long-lost love or something).

    That's funny about walking near the water. I love to walk in it. Ankle deep, knee deep if I want a good resistance workout. When I run at the beach, I run JUUUUST beside the foam that rolls in - I like to dodge the waves and try to keep my shoes dry.

    This week I will be just at an hour from the beach, and I am thinking that I might just make a day trip and go. I'll post if I do, and a pic to go with it of my footsteps juuuust outside the surf! :)

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  8. The ocean is my go to place. I grew up on Long Island and when I moved away I still closed my eyes and went to the beach when I had migraines. Now that I'm back on the east coast, I'm so grateful! I love me some beach time!!

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