I once saw a woman playing in the sea. She simply walked up to the water, laid down, and the waves rolled along the sand, tossing and turning her. It was during Covid, and things had just begun opening up a little bit in Waikiki, allowing for a whopping two people to be in a group together. So my husband and I sat on the beach, enjoying our Duke’s takeout from white cardboard boxes, the sun beginning to set on the Pacific turquoise.
And the woman played. Her peaceful abandon of all control allowed the water to gracefully pull her and push her up and down the sand. It was an abandon that invited the letting go of a difficult time, a Covid time. Fear had no place where she lay enjoying the movement of the sea. She played, as a child might, and smiled up at the warm, blue sky.
I think back on that scene and wonder, “How could she just roll with the waves when my tendency is to stick my foot in the sand and stop the movement of time, of wounds, of challenges?” I will learn to roll with the waves. Not just out in the water, but on the shore too. I will keep the desire to play alive through all my days. There is healing in play. There is healing in the water, in the sound of the waves splashing the shore.
Play with abandon, play with precision, play with laughter and beauty and smiles. Come, adults, let us play.
Life is Sailing 
Leave a comment