“When anxious, uneasy
and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its
great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon
everything in me that is bewildered and confused” – Rainer Maria Rilke
The ocean is my safe
haven.
There’s this peaceful
feeling I get whenever I am walking on the beach sand, feeling my feet sink in
the sand while listening to the roar of the ocean waves.
The ocean has a way of
keeping me sane and safe. I forget my worries, forget the world and just lose myself
in the moment watching the mass of water dance. I’m so obsessed with the water.
I feel so peaceful and at home by the ocean.
“There’s something about
the ocean that makes everything better or at least makes life just a bit more
clear’ - Unknown
I was going to say if I
lived in a State where there is an ocean, I’d visit it daily. But then I
remembered I once lived in Lagos State where there’s enough ocean around but I
barely visited. Even when the then bar beach (before Eko Atlantic project came
up) was right behind my house, the best I did was enjoy the view of the ocean
from my room window. I can’t tell
exactly why I didn’t go often, probably because I felt it would always be
around. When we have something readily around we tend not to value it. (Same
thing I’m doing with the two large mango trees in my compound).
“The ocean makes me feel
really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective…it humbles you
and makes you feel almost like you’ve been baptized. I feel born again when I
get out of the ocean” – Beyonce Knowles.
We have this ideal
picture of how we want our lives to be or we once had it when we were much
younger. But adulthood is so much different. Things don’t really work out the
way we plan, or do they? When I’m at the ocean, I get perspective, I’m in a
different realm. So much clarity, I get to live the live I envisage for myself
(even if it’s all in my head).
“Because there’s nothing
more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no
matter how many times it’s sent away.” – Sarah Kay
Left to me, I’d love to
live by the ocean. Have the sea sing me a lullaby every night. A simple house
by the ocean where I can take long walks, have peaceful time with myself and
allow my thoughts wander.
“The
waves of the sea help me get back to me” – Jill Davis
Nigerians love noise.
They always try to spoil my beach experience with loud party music. I hate
crowd and I get very shy when I get in the midst of strangers. Once I get to
the beach, I stroll to the side that's not crowded, look for a spot and stay on
my own or with whomever I am with.
Maybe next time I’ll
take my ear piece so I can play the right kind of slow melancholic music that
should be played when on a beach. I can imagine the perfect feeling listening
to Oceans by Coldplay while sitting on a rock watching the ocean.
A beach should be a
place of peace, solitude and tranquility. Melancholic music suits that kind of
environment best and not noisy shitty music with cheaply written lyrics.
The ocean has a calming
effect on me, then add that to the calm effect the songs have on me too.
Perfect bliss. Once I set my eyes on the ocean, it’s like everything melts
away.
“On the beach you can
live in bliss” - Dennis Wilson
Writing this, imagining
it, has brought a smile across my lips. I can already feel the peace. The ocean
side is somewhere I get to really stay free of all my troubles and cares.
‘I
get lost in the beauty of everything I see
The
world ain’t half as bad as they make it to be…’ – Come Home by One Republic
There was a time I
stayed a bit late into the evening on the beach. The sea breeze was everything.
I just sat there taking in the air, allowing the water wash over my feet. It
was a healing process. Something that beats me though is; why would someone go
to a beach and not enter the water? I see people keeping their distance like
they are afraid of the water.
That’s like going to a cinema and then sleeping
all through while the movie is on.
In my opinion, the best
part of the whole beach experience is the water. The way the waves carry you,
when the water touches your skin sending a cold chill down your body. It can be
quite scary though. There’s this trick I discovered. When the waves washes over
you, stay still as the water goes back to the sea. It’s when you try to run it
carries you along easily.
Well, the last time it
almost didn’t work for me. I remember I was lying down on the sand when the
waves came, I stayed put trying to dig my hands in the sand for support, but
the current was too strong. I felt myself moving with the water. I started
screaming ‘the water is carrying me’. My silly friend just stayed there
snapping pictures. *sigh
Anyway I’m the one who
wrote this so I’m still alive J
At that point though, I
thought this is it. Death is here and I’m done.
I still don’t get why
people who want to off themselves have to go through pain first. Like setting
themselves on fire, or hanging themselves or going in front of a bus. The ocean
is a perfect place to end it. Plug in your ear piece, listen to Midnight by
Coldplay, down three bottles of liquor mixed with several sleeping pills by the
sea, get high and sleep off as the breeze blows over your skin gently, nudging
you to sleep as the pills kick in. The waves comes and washes your body into
oblivion…
“If
I die young
Bury
me in satin
Lay
me down on a bed of roses
Sink
me in a river at dawn
Send
me away with the words of a love song…’ – If I die young by The Band Perry
“The cure for anything
is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.” - Isak Dinesen.
I know lots of readers
would cringe after reading the part about suicide. Nigerians though *sigh. Religion
has done us a very bad one on us. Totally closed our minds and deformed our
thinking. Most times I feel like I don’t
belong here, like I don’t fit in. I don’t know how I got so liberal or open
minded. I remember my university classmate who had her wedding ceremony on the
beach. Linda Ikeji carried it on her gossip/news blog and then the internet
trolls came with heir superstitious comments that she made a wrong choice as
she has opened the door, inviting marine spirits to her marriage. SMH!
Skinny dipping is
something I’ll do someday but definitely not in this country. We are way too
backwards to understand that nudity is art. Our over religiousness, hypocrisy
and closed minds are just too much barrier for us to appreciate the simple
things of life.
Sometimes I get lost in
thought at sea. I just sit there not wanting the moment to end, like I could
just stay there frozen in time or best relocate. Live a quiet, easy life by the
ocean. Just me, music, laughter and my significant other by the sea.
Quit your job, buy a
ticket, and get a tan, fall in love…never return
