The Place of Acceptance

The ocean has been here long before I made my little grand entrance.  It watches me with mostly inarticulate groans as I prance around leaving my tiny footprints all over the beach. It will remain here long after I leave at the day’s end.

Every person dotting the beach is here today because they want to be or somebody who loves them brought them along.  Of course, there might be few who feel forced, manipulated or guilted into coming. Sadly, such approach, even if it's driven by good intentions, effectively ruins the fun available to all who come of their own free will. 

The ocean doesn’t need anything from me nor does it place any expectations on me.  It doesn't judge me for being fat or skinny, smart or stupid, introvert or extrovert, clean or messy, This is hard to grasp for most of us who grow up and live under the burden of impossible demands and expectations our surroundings - home, school, church, social media, and even our own deluded selves - places on us.  Sometimes I don't even realize I compromised my soul in my futile attempt to fit in and be accepted.

The ocean in turn says to me,

You already fit in with me! You are already accepted here.

I am a blessed beneficiary of all its affection, generosity and  grandeur.

There is no age limit to enjoying the ocean – you are never too young, never too old to play.  All our little labels - what you do, who you are, even what you believe - matter little here.  The ocean is equally at ease with the scarred used-to-bes and the naive wanna-bes; the woman covered from head-to-toe in burka, the bold guy showing off his full-body tattoo and a wounded artist plagued by unresolved angst and anger.

Surrounded by the vastness of the sky above, the sand beach under my feet, and the great big blue, my huge, unsolvable problems are scaled down to size. 

Curiously, as my problems are being reduced, I don’t feel diminished as a person.

There is something inside me that actually gets enlarged.