Sweetie and I went to the beach last weekend to celebrate our anniversary. I love, love, love the beach...the glorious, amazing beautiful beach. We went to Longboat Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida and we were more than just a little bit worried about what we would find when we got there with the devastating oil spill and all. The beaches were nearly abandoned. I've never seen our Florida beaches so deserted in the summertime. To my utter relief and unbridled delight, the area we visited (so far) remains untouched, pristine and perfect.
I got up early one morning to try and capture some pics of the amazing wildlife that IS the Gulf of Mexico. I've been particularly intrigued with the land crabs. The first morning when Sweetie and I were enjoying our coffee and sitting on our back stoop/porch/landing...whatever...a crab had made the long journey from the beach to where we sat right outside our room. But so shy a creature and soooo F A S T ! ! ! No time to blink let along retrieve my camera and get a shot so I made it my mission to camp out in front of the many crab holes down by the water and just wait. These little side-walkers define the term "camera-shy".
Their habit of running and hiding in their hidey holes reminds me strongly of what we human beans do so much of our lives. The crabs have been equipped with huge black eyes and incredible speed with which to escape predators. From what are we running and hiding? Could it be we are afraid that we are not living our true authentic lives…not being true to our calling? Afraid to tell anyone, particularly those closest to us. Afraid that ‘this is all there is’? And that somehow we missed our calling but it’s too late to make a major change. Could we be stuck in a situation which we do not like but its familiarity is comfortable…the knowing of it is more secure than the unknowingness of change. So like the crabs, we stay in our safe little holes and peek out at the big world every now and then.
But we, as humans, do not have to live our lives as the land crabs do...afraid of even the shadow of the sun moving behind clouds. We are powerful beings with amazing opportunities to make change and discover our true beautiful authentic selves.
What is the first thing you will do TODAY to throw back the veil and uncover one piece of your passion, your joy?
"WHAT IS IT YOU PLAN TO DO WITH THIS ONE WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE?"
Mary Oliver
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