Summertime…and the livin’ is easy in the Low Country. The fish are jumping, as I can attest to living on the edge of the Stono River. This land of Eden is so rich in every way it seems, but in summer, the bounty reaches its zenith.
Summertime…is the best time to indulge in ripe local produce, seafood al fresco and hand-crafted cocktails, brimming with garden grown herbs. Oh yes, and a jaunt to the sea...
Ironically, summer is historically my busiest time of the year. I am usually teaching photography almost daily, or working with clients to visually re-brand themselves for a Fall reveal.
So, when I do get out for a day at the beach, I dream of laying in the sand with the salty water lapping over my edges. I imagine what it is to be as peaceful and docile as a shell. Not wanting, not striving, not planning the next move. Just being.
In "Gift from the Sea," by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, an amazing collection of shell metaphors for women's self-care, I turn first to this passage to remind myself of how to be:
“…The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach—waiting for a gift from the sea.”
Summertime is such a lovely time to restore and replenish. It is most conducive to receiving inspiration from the smell of flowers in bloom everywhere, the salty sea air, moist with the humidity of a tropical clime, and the feel of sand between our toes.
I am in love with this blissful paradise that seduces my senses, begging me to slow down and savor its riches. There are a wealth of “gifts from the sea” to explore. Cheers to the halcyon days of Summer of Sixteen, Charleston-style!
