Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s wee book “Gift from the Sea “is a book that 40 years ago I devoured, absorbed, re read, re read, cried over, sighed over and ached over.
To have a refuge/beach shack like she had, as a retreat to make time stop still, to just be, let the real you emerge /evolve, was an unbelievable dream during my farming and parenting years.
However, making do as one did on the land, I spent my life checking for the gifts in between the spaces of special times.
My fingers tingled to capture and record these moments and attribute meaning and wisdom to the gifts that I found, but regrettably, they inevitably had to return to the kitchen sink or work computer.
Now in my widowed, living alone years, my refuge is the Pelimobile, my muse comes and goes, life still gets in the way BUT I am moving with a purpose, structure and will to create a daily discipline.
Today I found a chalky, soft, white rock -perfect for carving and shaping.
I can see my grandson excitedly stroking, feeling, sensing and bringing out the figure or creature within just like Michelangelo did with the raw marble he discovered.
Another gift today was the distinct track in the sand of an old man goanna, full tail and body print.
If there was a volcanic eruption today, a print of his clawed foot would be captured forever in the lava flow.
That photo would become a postcard!
Check out this quote from Anne’s book that was reprinted by the author 50, yes, 50 years on from when she published it:
” The Beach is not the place to work, ....to write or think...too warm, too damp, too soft for any real discipline or sharp flights of spirit....the tired body takes over....and descents into a deck chair apathy .....and then one day... the mind wakes....but it must not be sought for -or heaven forbid -dug for....patience, patience,....one must lie empty open, choiceless as a beach waiting for a gift from the sea....”
My wandering retreat is taking shape- with my home on my back, time, choice to stay or go mine alone, new horizons, adventures to be had, wonders to see, stories to hear- time to capture all in my writing and photography.
https://read.amazon.com.au/kp/kshare?asin=B004D4Y1SQ&id=fbGyef5RTL-UuivheiqXxg&reshareId=VCWYVH99F7BFYZMPX4R7&reshareChannel=system