The first time I saw the sea, I had just embarked into my teens. Even the boom of crashing waves heard from afar had not prepared me to witness the expansive sheet of wavy blue mirroring the sky. I had stopped in my tracks to let my eyes wander far into the horizon.
As I stared mesmerised by the play of wind and water, my newly-wed cousin broke that moment with a theory that she and her husband shared an eternal bond like the sea and the sky. My hormone-addled teenage mind that was all set to conquer the world and set it right waited for my-otherwise-practical cousin to burst into fits of laughter, but then, she was in love.
We had gone back to staring at the rolling waves dreaming of the treasures that the sea of life had in store for us — hers tangled in love and mine raging in teen fervour. All beginnings, a virus-stung New Year included, are an invitation to dream and start afresh.
That afternoon I earned a precious pearl of wisdom. Enchanted by the sight of waves, I had excitedly hurled myself into the water only to be assaulted by a powerful wave that flung me back onto the shore. I coughed and spluttered as the briny water stung my eyes. Conquering a wave or the world is not easy, but definitely possible. A little caution, patience and time could help us conquer all — even a Pandemic.
Years later, the next time my eyes wandered far into the horizon that touched the desert sun, I was the newly wed. The world that I wished to conquer and set right in my teens was unchanged but I now had a little world of my own.
On that day by the sea, the waves caressed my feet, gently wiping clean the shore off of inscriptions scarring its sandy floor while the swirling waves became a giant washing machine that cleaned up the litter its occupants left behind, before they receded back into its deep blue heart.
Stains — some stubborn, others washable — have marred the year’s days, dragging us into dark unknown depths of uncertainty, loss and despair. We need to find the will to forgive, dim the stains and move ahead because life has to flow on.
Winter morning by the sea
On another winter morning by the sea, my family was drinking in the joys of the sun, sand and togetherness while my energies were channelled on the phone with what I deemed was important for another day.
I now remember the wave that I thought I lost, not the obligation. We often mesh our present with an unforeseen future, a future that might change or never be, and miss catching that perfectly beautiful wave of the moment — look up and catch that wave for we only own the moment.
On a night during a staycation at a beach resort, I had watched the violent play of the harsh winds and turbulent waters — angry and unforgiving — under the watchful eyes of endless sky. My eyes caught the glimmer of light from a vessel — too tiny and insignificant in the vast sea of black — that bobbed and quivered on choppy waters. Together we can weather the COVID-19 storm, but not lose sight of lessons it left in its wake.
The next morning, as darkness of the night gave way to the first light of day, the vast sea of black transformed into an endless sheet of shimmering blue. The wind had mellowed while the wild waters had drowned its anger to be reborn as waves that did an elegant dance with the breeze. After every dark night comes the glorious light of a new day.
As we wrap up Year 2020 and embark into the New Year, here is sending in good wishes and a song from the sea.
— Pranitha Menon is a freelance writer based in Dubai. Twitter: @MenonPranitha
