I thought it would be realistic, with all the other projects I have in mind, to write a new post once a week. That seemed realistic. Yet, here I am again! It wasn't my plan, but as the bus headed down the hill, and I caught that first glimpse of the sea, the blog wrote itself - words pushing and shoving each other in my mind wanting to be arrnaged on a page.
It is always by the sea that my words are set free, and it was no different this morning. I am reminded that I need to free the words to come whenever they want, not constrained by my schedule.
This morning as the train was sitting near Macdonald Town waiting to arrive at Redfern I marvelled at the intricate track structures, of all the complexity and structure need for my simple journey. My personality hurrays the structure, clings to it, delights in it. However, I also know that beyond the structure is boundless creativity.
I had better actually share what was on my mind at the beach this morning.......

It's that first sight of the sea - even when I know exactly when and where that will be. It's the white toss of the waves, the sea sparkle, the whiff of salt. There's no time to think of yesterday's worries, of tomorrow's busyness. The sea calls attention to the joy of today.
I wrote a poem several years ago sitting in the same cafe I am having breakfast in this morning,

Bronte Beach December 2004

And I didn’t feel like crying

As the sand wedged between my toes

And the water crept up my pants

As the sun gently caressed my hair

And the wind played around my face

I looked to the ocean

The foam danced on the waves

Pounding into the rocks carved by millions of years

The swell, in line with my breathing, rose and fell

As the current swelled over and under the crashing waves.

Walking, thinking, dreaming

The world sparkling around me

I knew the ocean had caught the tears

And flung them away into the deep

And that same feeling is still here now - it's the seduction of the ocean.

Sitting, eating ricotta hotcakes, an almost empty latte beside me, I am reminded, also, of the danger of the ocean. It's beauty draws me constantly. I love its wildness, its refusal to comply with 'wave regulations'. I love its power. However, I am aware of its danger. So what does all thsi mean in my year of living dangerously? It's a good analogy really. Dangerous places can also be places of peace and safety.

I had been thinking this morning on the train that maybe this year was about having the courage to find the safe places and to trust them (or Him really, as my only really safe place is God).

Well that's as far as the thoughts went today!