Being a Mermaid

Who doesn't want to be a mermaid right?

Every time I go to the beach, I spend some time lounging on the shore, out of the tide's pull but within its reach. It's a way of enjoying the water without having to constantly fight the waves or jump over them.

And without fighting the waves, you can just let nature literally wash over you and listen to the crash of the water, finally expelling the energy that's propelled it for miles and miles. The sand is coarser when you rub it against you and your skin easily absorbs billions of sunbeams that traveled eight million miles to fry or warm you.

I actually don't care much for nature though my desktop backgrounds would suggest the opposite. Walking outside is a bother unless it's cool and windy and preferably overcast and I've never been one for roughing it out in the wilderness or even a park. But the ocean is different. As long as I stay where my feet can touch the sand, I feel safe from the sharks and fish and seagulls and crabs and rip currents and whatever else is out there in the big blue. It's just me and the feeling of being in a little piece of the small infinity that is the ocean.

I used to dream that I could breathe underwater, even though I'm not the best of swimmers. But I've never gone out into the deep to experience the feeling of weightlessness. I've never thought of improving my swimming skills to enjoy the water even more. All I think about after the waves have tossed me over and shoved me back to the shore is that I want to sit in a comfortable spot and not think about my worries for a while.

Some people sleep at the beach. Others swim or read. I sometimes read, but mostly I think. It comes so naturally to me that I don't know how others live without taking the time to just sit with their thoughts. And when you pair your thoughts with the ocean, your thoughts don't feel small and important. They feel like they matter, like they're the perfect foreground for the immense background noise and image that is the ocean--like everything's in harmony even if your thoughts aren't.

This is another one of those thoughts that I feel doesn't have an enchantment except that it's great to just relax at the beach with your own thoughts. It's always good to take the time to do that.