Why am I so captivated by the beach? Sure, you could give balmy beach answers, waxing warmly about sand and summer fun. Instead, I think of stories of my life, love and lessons learned at water’s edge…my life’s path has literally been formed by sand castles. I’ve spent a total of years with family on island beaches, and for me beaches have never been a place of much scrutiny. In fact, the opposite. On a beach, I feel relieved. Sure, you might say there’s more to it, that sand has seeped deeper into my psyche. After all, it’s pretty stealthy stuff. It can speak to success (“I’m off to my beach house”), luxury (“I’d like a hotel room with a beach view”), even intimacy (“please seat me at a table right on the beach”). One could even argue that the beach makes us younger, more fearless. Go on, dive for that beach ball…or better yet, have a drink, a book, a nap, a walk, a moonlit kiss. All such things are best experienced on the beach. Even what isn’t better on a shoreline makes life more enjoyable. Take work: your laptop does not like sand, and that’s the point.
Fresh off the plane and home to relax, I step onto a beach, feeling the soft sand between my toes and I smile. The sensation has nothing to do with what I just wrote. Instead, the sand sparks a sensual reminder for me that I’m no longer bound to anyone else’s routine. I am standing on MY island, and my life’s discoveries await only me. I know that the beach is more than it’s shoreline, that often beach time is life’s icing on a beautiful cake. No matter your stance on beaches, to me that’s pretty sweet.