The Atlantic is not the Pacific, not in tone or tenor or voice. They sing different songs and tell different legends. The Pacific comforts and heals my soul, while the Atlantic seduces me to join the wild surf. They offer me the choice between inward solace and outward adventure.
When these two seas meet at Cape Horn they dance together without mercy or predictability, fighting to blend and yet remain individuals. Differences in salt and temperature and density can mingle but do not easily merge. And the stories they tell are no different, each fighting for dominance in the wild “greybeard” waves and the “furious-fifties” winds.
These two seas eventually join, blending their mythic tales and memories, and perhaps their message to me. They teach that comfort and courage are sisters who dance inside me like mermaid and pirate. Reflection and adventure journey together, messenger and guide, into unknown futures.
Life has been so frightening, or perhaps I have just been too frightened to breathe deeply this past year. I have been haunted by the past and leery of embracing the present. Perhaps I need to let my inner oceans dance as powerful lovers, sharing different views of history and different dreams for the future. Together they create something more than I can even imagine.
Yes, let your inner oceans dance. A powerful image!