Sitting on the Beach...

...I count 17 pelicans going north. Flying in formation, skimming the waves about 8 inches above the water. One will drop, then they all follow, some coming up with fish, many not. Then they're off again in their V formation. Near my toes a tiny crab scuttles past, doing whatever tiny crabs do early on a weekday morning. Out to my left is the entrance to the Cheasapeake Bay. Cargo and Navy ships will come and go all day long. This early though they are just darks shadows deep in the morning mist.

   Its a little bit past sunrise, the eastern sky decked out in its finest colors. This morning I am mostly alone. Ocasionally someone will pass in front of me, like the crab scuttling down the beach on whatever business humans have here in the morning. We will usually nod to one another. Our acknowledegment of a shared affection for this beach, this time of the day.

A while later from down the beach, A child's yell catches my attention. "Look!, look!, Dolphins!" A pod slowly approaches from the north. Hard to tell how many. Once again I have left a good pair of binoculars sitting in my office about 100 yards behind me. I don't bother to go get them. I don't want to miss their passing. Its hard to tell how many are out there today. 3 or 4 will leap fom the water simultaneously. They wil jump and gambol around and over each other. Even when dolphins are hunting, thay have an attitude of play. I get the message "stay in the moment, Life is fun if you let it be".

   I am fortunate. My job is right on the beach. I often get there earlier than I have to just to enjoy these solitary moments. In season the tourists from the hotel I work in will soon be all over the beach. That is fine. These people from West Virginia or as far aways as Canada are here for this that I take for granted. I'm happy they are able to appreciate something I love so deeply. But out of season is something they won't see. They will miss the untamed surf from the passing winter storms. They will miss the local surfers and bodyboarders attempt to ride this surf. But the beach has something for everyone.

   Men with metal detectors, combing the dunes for lost and buried treasure. Mostly picking up small items they throw back, but occasioannaly something gets slipped into a pocket. I hope its valuable, but I know that most these men are here for the adventure. Saying to themselves, "What might I find next?" The shell collectors, examining evrey stone or shell that catches thier eye are fun to watch. They bob like many of the birds around them. We are not so different, these birds and I. Stopping to check out the bright thing in our path.

I talk with god during these moments of solitude. occasionally god will talk back to me. These chats give me a better understanding of the uiverse I live in and share with all of these other lives. I am grateful for this time together.

Saturday Masters - Sonny Rollins