If the infinity of the sea may call out thus, perhaps when a man is growing old, calls come to him, too, from another infinity still darker and more deeply mysterious; and the more he is wearied by life the dearer are those calls to him. – Henryk Sienkiewicz
The idea of “sea as sanctuary” came about immediately after casting my message in a bottle. I’d like to think that most of us go to the sea/ocean, or some other geographic expanse (read: landscape) to search for something when we don’t know what we need. And we keep coming back; we don’t stop just once. Sometimes we don’t even know what we go there for, but we just have this tendency to reach the shore. Is it calming? Is it inviting? Does it offer a clearer perception?
DRIFTING
The concept isn’t new, in terms of literature and cinema at least, as this idea is played out in films and other nodes of storytelling as an almost distinct emotional motif: solace. Luckily for most of us, these perceptions offer a much stronger reality than advertising or tourism campaigns that suggest happiness and fruitful dreamlands only seem to occur on the beach/seaside. However, the beach or ocean offers much more than a split perspective than this. For me, it’s the facility for searching that interests me the most.
SEARCH
So, something may have happened to you that’s confusing or, you know, just uncertain. And so we wander, drift, go to places and search for something to fill us up, or gives us more stability. Is it something about the endless waves that caresses the confusion? Is it the sine waves that somehow bring us to a ‘balanced’ state, an inner equilibrium? And when we walk along the shore, do we walk ourselves into a more meaningful, or sharpened mental state? Could it be possible that the sea offers us all of this and more?
SANCTUARY
There’s nothing as strong as personal experience to inform an idea, and I’m sure that all of you that are reading this and have found yourself in a similar position know that nothing can replace this strength. I see the sea as a place where, in a sense, there is an endless capacity for support and reaffirmation of our doubts or struggles. It can be a spiritual force: a place for saying goodbye; a place for welcoming in new things. It is also much more than that, because we can interact with the waves, the water, the whole space. Plus, it’s there for us when we need it. Always. And find yourself in solitude with the sea is an interesting thought. But what do you think about all of this?
Like always, any thoughts or comments are welcome.
Thanks,
Tom.
His Empty Space 