my relationship with the ocean...

so, the thing is is that i have never been that fond of the ocean in reality... now, moving to california back in '95 there was a certain 'fondness' that i was required to have towards it... just to prove that i loved california over texas (my homeland)...

so, i never got into surfing... i never got into sun-bathing or bathing suits for that matter... i am bleach white... er, used to be bleach white...

the last week (just about every day) i have been out boogie boarding each evening... wow, what a change it has made... i feel tired this evening, not frantic... excercise is such a spiritual discipline in utilizing our inspirations and energies on something...




so, i love metaphors... and i have been looking for what the ocean, the waves, the surf, the riptide... what do they all mean?... not like what sermon illustration can i make out of it, but rather, how does it reflect our human condition and god's characteristics?...

so, i swim out and see people, even children, finding ease getting up on the waves... not so much for me at first, but once i find the rhythm, it becomes understandable... once i find the rhythm, then i begin to move to the rhythm... now, i get out of rhythm with the ocean all the and the rhythm changes (or at least seems too...) and i get smashed up by the rhythm that carried me just moments ago... how can this all be?... this ocean is at once simple and supportive and powerful and angry... no sense made of it... i simply cannot explain it... there are those who can... those marine biologists or whoever they are that can see the formula...

anyways, there is this awful riptide this evening... another current that pulls me in another direction... its constant, and sometimes i have to get out of the water, pull my board to shore and walk the beach until i am back to where i started and go out again braving the water that beats me up and then carries me like 100 feet...

so, i am now in love with the ocean... it is saving my soul, one wave at a time...

i wonder if some of my neighbors (who never have darkened the door of any religious establishment) realize how nature reflects the greater story?... hmm...