welcome, readers & writers. thank you for stopping by!
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writers, care to join me for a writing warm up using the photo above as inspiration? share your short story, poetic or creative non-fiction response by clicking on comments below. readers, comments are open to you as well! see below for my non-fiction response to the photo.
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The year I graduated from college, a friend and mentor gave be the book A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindburgh. Written on a solitary writing retreat in a simple cottage by the sea, the book of essays is abundant with wisdom about life and relationships; each chapter is inspired by a different element of the seashore ~ shells, waves, gulls, sand, etc. One insight that has stayed closely with me all these years is the metaphor she drew between relationships and tides. There is a natural ebb and flow to all relationships, she believes. At times the tide is in and the relationship is marked by abundance ~ joy, communication, affinity. When the tide is out, and it will go out, there is distance. We often feel that distance as loss. We fear being left alone and cold and vulnerable on a washed out beach. Ms. Morrow Lindburgh sought to reframe, re-think those "tide is out" phases.-
When the tide is out in a relationship, she says, it is the perfect time to explore the smooth, glossy surface of the ocean floor... to look for treasures, the shells, clams (pearls) and starfish hidden just beneath the sand, pieces of ourselves we've never seen or have long forgotten. Trusting that the tide will indeed return, we can enjoy the solitude and time to focus on ourselves. We can wait with patience and hope and excitement for the tide to rush in again. This photo brought the beautiful wisdom of A Gift From the Sea back to me. When the world feels empty, bereft of color, we find beauty in unexpected ways. The brilliant yellow of the flower in the photo is muted, stilled. But the gorgeous, inky stain spreading out from the center of the pansy gets its moment to shine.-
