Peace at the Shore

Trouble hovers about me like vultures checking out my expiration date. There is no real escape. It always is nearby, moving closer, relentlessly. It’s always patient. I feel it in the tingle of my spine, the quickening of my heart rate, the tightness in my jaw and the bead of sweat rolling slowly down my forehead. 

I stand on the quiet beach. I contemplate the coming darkness and imagine the other side. Maybe all will be well. Or maybe not. The orange globe surrounded by a blazing, flowing red robe slowly touches the horizon. The robe slowly follows the setting sun to the black finish line as night surrounds me. In the blackness above, tiny lighthouses beam from every corner of the universe- signs of hope and danger.

The sand beneath my bare feet is cooling and calming. I take a moment to enjoy the sand climbing slowly around my toes. The blanket of sand embraces my feet and I feel connected literally to this magical place.  

Small chirping sounds call out to me as little shore birds dart about in the shallow waters that enter and recede from their space. They are in such a hurry compared with the slow, steady lapping of the waters around them. Should I hurry too? Or should I stop and linger like the waves? I choose the latter. 

The darkening silhouette of the pier stretches out to meet the horizon, but falls short in spite of the effort. Fellow travellers can be seen dotting the pier as they join in this communal moment, each with their own story and their own perspective on this tableau. They are silent in their contemplation as am I. 

I have nothing except the one instrument I carry. There’s no need for anything else. At this moment, life is raw, simple and spectacular.  We don’t know the storms we will face. We only know the now. 

I lift my violin to salute this day and whatever is to come in this magnificent world. I surrender to it offering my humble prayer of thanks for the journey. “Adagio for Strings” is carried off across the water. The little skittering shore birds stop and look across the water. The winds begin to quicken from the northeast.