I don’t know if it’s universal, but, a lot of us are enthralled by breaking waves. I know I love to see them, and can stand, or sit, mesmerised for ages watching waves crash onto a rocky shore. I love the colour of them, the size of them, the sound of them, the shapes of them.
These are moments of power and transition. You can tell how much power is in them from the noise they make when they crash against the rocks. I know that it’s the steady, constant, repetition of fairly small, less dramatic waves, which do most of the work shaping the rocks and the land, but these big ones must push things on a bit, don’t you think? The power of the sea is more obvious when it breaks through the surface like this, and smashes onto the rocky outcrops. And it’s a moment of transition. How long do any of these waves last? Seconds, at most. If you’ve ever tried to photograph them, you’ll know you have to take several photos to capture a single moment like this. As the liquid sea bursts into spray and foam, billions of water molecules are released into the air, some to return quickly back into the sea, but many others to dissipate, invisibly into the air….on their way to form clouds and mists, and to dampen the soil and the sand.
I’m also struck by how wave watching like this gives you a vivid experience of the fundamental unpredictability of reality. It’s really hard to predict which wave will hit the rocks the hardest, which will soar highest into the sky.
So, this is what strikes me, as the waves strike the rocks…….power of nature, the beauty of transience, and the fundamental unpredictability of reality.
Three life lessons in a moment, huh? How about you? Do you love watching waves crashing into rocks too?
Heroes Not Zombies 