Walks and Water

Today, I went for walk around a neighborhood pond that I mostly neglect.

The thing is, walking near water and looking out over its expanse, feeling the breeze coming off the water, seeing the ever-changing surface, and experiencing the organic irregularity of its shoreline is profoundly grounding and healing.  I started my walk in a pandemic/social distancing induced funk and I ended it feeling okay.

The fact that this little gem is tucked away in my neighborhood, just always waiting and yet I don't usually think about it or experience it is a bit disconcerting to me.

I'm reminded of the first time I walked away from the beach (rather than the daily walk to the beach) in Corsica from my grandparents' house. I went up into the hills there for the first time and, after getting turned around a few times and feeling like I had been transported to a forest far away, I eventually started to come back down the hills towards the house.  Then, in a clearing, I suddenly could see the ocean.  It was right there, more beautiful than in any picture. Although I was farther from the ocean than I was at the house, it somehow felt closer, more immediate.

I was heading down towards the narrow plains upon which the house stood and just beyond, the ocean seemed to stretch toward the sky. It was as if the house were sitting at the bottom of a 'V' with the ocean on one side and hillside on the other.  Of course, it was an optical illusion since I'm pretty sure the water is horizontal. The lack of depth perception and the surprising visual presence of the ocean that I had experienced so often from the beach really took my breath away.  How could this view be available just a short walk away from the house?

Sometimes, we just have to be reminded that there are little gems all around us, just waiting to be noticed...