A beach that holds all of us.
Greetings from the canyon, where the mid-summer heat of inland Southern California meets the ocean breeze. It's very hot here, especially since many old-built homes (like ours) in the area do not have air conditioning, but somehow we are spared from the hottest temperature just enough by the breeze from the Pacific.
We often find ourselves escaping the heat by heading down to the beach. The vastness of voluminous ocean water, a steady orchestra of waves crashing to the sand, and the direct connection with the earth I feel through my bare feet are a few reasons that make the "beach" so magical. Once there, I like to plant myself in one spot and stare into the ever-changing waves, clouds, and horizon. I never want to move an inch or get bored of being still. "Sitting" has been my favorite activity at the beach until this past winter when I started taking surf lessons. Now I am either chasing the waves in the water or sitting at the beach; two polar styles of enjoyment, but I know myself to be slightly extreme this way.
On the other hand, Frido is always reasonably fully physically involved at the beach. He is often knee-deep in treasure hunting, combing through the sand for drift artifacts and ocean fragments with our kids, or building stacked rock sculptures. He produces so many rock sculptures that by the second half of our beach day, casual beach go-ers start taking photographs of his ever-evolving creation. I always marveled at how different his interest in "beach time" is from mine and wondered what drives him to do all these things until I read A.C.'s story for this month.
I took such pleasure in reading A.C.'s story about Emil digging a deep hole in the sand and his intrinsic passion for the activity. To dig a hole for no other reason than to dig a hole and A.C.'s reflection on their creative work with such intent. Trina interviewed Caroline Donahue for her Notebook People series. Like Trina, I was intrigued by how Caroline uses tarot cards to inspire her writing. Learning into the "felt sense" of where her story wants to develop instead of always being in control feels familiar to me.
On this hot day in the canyon, I enjoy imagining our BK team spending the afternoon at the beach. Emil digging a hole, Frido stacking rocks, our kids treasure hunting, me sitting on the sand without moving an inch, and all of our other team members doing what their hearts desire. I love that the beach and ocean are big enough to hold our differences while threading everyone's experiences together.
If you were at the beach with us, how would you like to spend your time? Do you have more archetypes to add?
-wakako
always a work in progress...
Topanga // August 2nd, 2023
