Living in Joy while Enduring Pain

I spent my Christmas vacation enjoying incredibly warm weather. The beach was beautiful with clear blue skies and warm weather. And while I had to embrace the outward beauty with my eyes, the hard shells beneath my feet reminded me of the inner pain my heart was carrying. While I enjoyed a warm winter vacation, my friend was enduring immense pain after a tragic holiday car accident that spared her life yet left another dead.

I reflected on life as I walked the solitary beach early one morning. And I was reminded of humanity all around and how frail we really are. Yet, as the ocean roared with movement, it reminded me of the resilience of life. And I embraced the fact that joy and pain must at times be friends.

So often pain seems to overshadow any beauty life may give, yet in acceptance that life is more beautiful than it is broken, joy can be a constant in this world.

Enduring Soul
Florida, 12'

Honoring Life Even in Death

I love the beach, especially the sun, the water, the sand and the birds. When I go to the beach, I live for these things. I love to go to bird sanctuaries, especially those near the beach.

My friend enjoys watching birds too, but she explained to me that she is an avid shell collector and this is her passion.

I have considered the beauty of shells but frankly they are more of a nuisance than a pleasure. At the beach, I try to avoid stepping on them as much as possible. And many are broken anyway, so I wonder why I should bother with shells. They have sand on them and they stink if dead things are left inside.

When my friend put all of her shells out to dry, I took a second look and I saw the beauty. I realized that while I see beauty in birds because they are alive, my friend sees beauty in what remains from a living thing. Though it no longer has life, it represents the remnants of life and it is more beautiful than the creature which it protected.

And then I met a stranger at the bird sanctuary who took a picture of a feather floating in the water...and he said "there is beauty in everything...if you look carefully you will find it..."

Maybe the next time I avoid stepping on a shell, I'll pick it up and take it home...just as a keepsake to remember that "life is beautiful and even in death, that beauty can be celebrated."

Shelling Soul
Sanibel Island, FL 11'