The Right Light

Believe it or not--in spite of all outward appearances--this beach is not in Florida or the Caribbean or some other popular tourist destination. Nope. It's here in Mathews County.

Last weekend or some weekend recently, on a hot day, I forced encouraged the Chesapeake Bay Children to get in the car because, "You WILL enjoy this!" accompany me to Bethel Beach for some Nature Appreciation 101.

(The good thing about Nature appreciation lessons? Nature does all the teaching. All I have to do is fling them onto the beach or out in the forest or in the middle of a daffodil field, and Nature takes care of everything else and asks for nothing in return.

If this is the one lasting impression I can leave on them, aside from viewing humanity and this planet as one (one planet, one people) instead of "us" vs. "them," I feel I've done my job as a human being. If I could teach them not to leave ice cream dishes under their beds and dirty socks in the yard, that would be an achievement too.)

Most times our public beaches don't quite look like this with the white sand, blue sea, and blue sky. No, often times the sand has more of a brownish hue (due to being damp) and it's covered in seaweed. Although still beautiful, they sometimes take on a drab tone, especially in the winter.

The water, at least from this vantage point, typically looks darker, with shades of green and brown. On stormy days it's gray.

But this particular day the sun scared off every bit of cloud cover, and she did her level best to highlight the water as well as the sand.

I think she did a darn fine job.

All of the above applies to us as much as it does this beach. We may weather some storms and take a beating; we may wonder if we're going to make it through the rain and heavy winds. Even without a storm, some days we may look and feel rather ordinary, perhaps forlorn.

But when the dark skies clear and the sun shines bright, we're better than ever. Sometimes we're better than we ever thought we could be.

p.s. As Chesapeake Bay Woman writes these Deep Thoughts she is deliriously tired and may even be asleep for all we know. If none of the above makes sense, just know she wishes you a happy Saturday and a life filled with mostly brochure-like beach scenes, with only the occasional storm--to make you stronger.

p.s.s. I don't know why Chesapeake Bay Woman slips back and forth from third to first person so often, but she does, and I ask you to see above about the strong possibility of being completely asleep as she writes this. She and I both thank you.

But wait! One more thought/question:

Can you remember and/or describe an experience in your life which was particularly horrific at the time, but which made you stronger, with time, for having survived it?