REALIZE LIFE’S FULLNESS AS KEEPER OF YOUR SEA

The Beach is quiet now.  The sun-worshippers have gone – abandoning her as the warmth of summer waned and she entered the lonely days of cold desolation…

Builders – once freely constructing their dreams upon her shifting sands – have returned to the daily routine of their work and their classrooms…

Friends and lovers have gone their separate ways to pursue individual realities after making empty promises to meet again next year…

The gulls – so active during the seemingly short season – have moved on in search of a more bountiful harvest.

Leaving only the Keeper of the Harbor – the Guardian of the Shore – to look after his Sea as he tends his lighthouse…

The Keeper stands facing the wind – cold and alone – seeing the sea and the beach in a different light than those who feel only her warmth and experience but the happy sounds of crowds while failing to recognize the beauty portrayed in isolation…

He sees past her surface into the depths of her soul – feeling and experiencing her power as she pounds relentlessly upon the empty shores of the now deserted beach…

He braces for an incoming autumn storm – feeling the biting cold of the sea’s loneliness lashing out to escape the confines of her reality upon the winds of change…

He becomes entwined in nature’s struggle to make sense of the shortening days and protracted nights – seeking meaning and life within the expanse of the sea’s depths and turbulence…

He sees the danger spread across her face as she awakens from the comforting calm provided by night’s shroud of darkness, beginning a new day of restless searching that keeps ships in safe harbors…

The Keeper treads gently upon the shores as if in a sacred temple abandoned long ago by a distracted and disinterested world…

He feels the strength of the Sea as he walks beside her – sensing her cry out for one who might understand, her tears driven towards his unprotected face upon the wings of the wind…

He struggles to face the rising storm – pounded relentlessly by the Sea as he tastes her salty loneliness and leans towards her into the wind…

He falls to his knees – absorbing her pain while sharing her suffering as he immerses himself within her sorrow – joining the Sea in her confusion as he protects his head from the torrential rains…

Then slowly rises to share the moment when she spills from her confinement – lifted up by the relentless winds of a storm – experiencing freedom from the constraints normally imposed upon her by the shore before returning to her reality as the winds recede…

The Beach is quiet once more – the storm having passed leaving the Keeper at rest with his Sea…

New life appears upon the shore as the tides fall – life that could never survive the crowds of summer but thrives during the lonely and undisturbed days of seasonal isolation…

The Keeper returns to his lighthouse – seeking the solitude it provides him as he directs others through lurking danger hidden by his Sea…

He celebrates the possibility of new beginnings brought about through the passing of seasons rather than dwelling upon the finality of stormy ends – upon what could yet be realized rather than what has already proven itself to be…

Standing alone – The Keeper of the Harbor and Guardian of the Shore – finds peace and comfort in the beauty a desolate shore provides while awaiting the return of those finding pleasure upon the summer sands.  He finds hope in each season life provides rather than living life (and finding comfort in) but one preferred season.

Those who see only their current reality rather than the potential of a different tomorrow – who focus on the disruption of the moment rather than the possibilities that each disruption might bring – are among those unfortunate enough to have left the beach at the end of summer.  Those who abandon life’s potential to accomplish that which is known to be achievable – that walk away from discovering “what could be” by accepting the comfort that “what is” might provide – become blind to the beauty that each new day might bring and tend to accept only what they are able to accomplish (see, touch, feel or explain) as all that is possible rather than seeking things that might at first seem impossible then celebrating each one as an opportunity to accomplish great things.  Remain true to yourself (and those around you) as you pass through life, stopping to see all sides of a story and experience each season of the beach before relentlessly moving forward to intentionally accomplish great things.  Thrive as you experience life’s storms by striving to become who and what you wish to be rather than accepting what others expect of you as being “good enough.” 

LIFE’S PATH TO THE PROMISE OF A DREAM...

We all come to a point in our lives to either “stay the course” or move on to a new and different horizon.  We either rush boldly where others fear to wander or move steadfastly towards a well-considered destination.  We far too often abandon all of the “old” in favor of the new – leaving behind not only what did not work but also what may have worked well.  While many changes are initiated on our own, it is ALWAYS easier to move forward when sharing the path with others – for without the help of another, who would lift you up should you fall?  Having another join us – be it to guide, prop up, encourage or come along beside us as we move ahead – can make the difference between success and failure.  How can we know when it might be time to change?  Consider the following…

They stood at a crossroads together, hand in hand, turning slowly to look from where they had come while seeking where they might wander.  They looked back at life’s journey as it unfolded strangely behind them, reveling in the high peaks of accomplishment yet troubled by their low valleys of despair.  They held tightly to the shining moments of joy within their past but found them shrouded by a hazy darkness of uncertainty that had entered their lives.  Then slowly and deliberately they turned to face ahead, seeking a future without yearning for their past.  Ready to begin anew holding no regret as they sought a new and distant dream, their past journeys diminished to but pleasant memories as they sought a distant tomorrow.

As they looked to begin their new journey, one road led towards a distant village glimmering in the sun – a pleasant place that beckoned to their individual needs as though old friends, knowing of their ways and welcoming them to her comforts.  The other path seemed less traveled as it wound towards a deep, dark pool teeming with life, struggling to escape the confines of its shores as it pounded incessantly against any who tried to contain her power – hinting at a promise of adventure while calling out to them with a hopeful voice of things not yet considered. 

The crossroad did not foretell a clear choice nor a defined destination – two paths weaving endlessly and inexplicably together into the horizon before splitting and going separate ways.  The path less traveled would take them towards an unknown and unpredictable Sea of Promise.  The more predictable road split into two narrow trails leading towards separate seaside villages of Refuge within which they could both find quiet peace from life’s storms within their own separate dreams – their dilemma being whether to travel together along one rough and rugged path or to move forward separately fulfilling their singular dreams, refusing to be captured, contained, supported or encouraged by another.

They gazed ahead – then upon each other – and chose the path more challenging.  They preferred to take life’s path towards the promise of a dream rather than finding comfort in living their individual realities.  They sought that which had not yet been defined as a destination – to discover what life might hold within its infinite depths – rather than being content to do what they had always done while finding satisfaction in receiving what would always come from those comfortable and learned efforts. 

 

Walking away from all that had been, they chose to travel upon the path leading to a future not yet realized – towards a dream that held promises of all that could be possible within their wildest imaginings.  They pledged to forge a new life as they threw caution to the winds – not knowing where their beginning might take them nor how their travels might end – content only that they walked together – that together was enough - refusing to be torn from the promise of their dreams.

Life is full of choices – from choosing to remain within the comfort of our familiarity to reaching out to grasp potential rewards an unknown future might provide.  As you wander through life – regardless of the decisions you make – dream big so that you can accomplish much.  Do not despair if you do not immediately find your resting place within the Sea of Promise for life holds many adventures not yet verbalized, formulated nor defined.  Unless we identify the outcomes we wish to achieve, we cannot know when we have arrived at our destination of choice. Refuse to be content with what comes easily, however, for we cannot seek all that life might offer or discover all it might hold unless we travel through its mysterious ways upon undiscovered paths towards the promise of a dream.