Pacific Coast Dreams

I have always been captivated by the ocean shore. That thin line where massive continent
meets vast ocean is physically and mystically a meeting of two worlds. Where the waves
fall upon the shore, you can stand in one spot with your feet and your soul grounded
simultaneously in two realities, leaving your mind free to wander the universe.

Everything is different there. Light plays constantly, reflecting on the water. Sound
seems to bend the laws of physics as over the roar of the surf you can hear a quiet
conversation occurring 100 yards away. The wind is nearly always blowing, sculpting
the ground and forcing the trees into distorted shapes as testament to its power. The
water is moving, always moving, waves and currents and tides. It is a restless place
where my soul finds peace.

The power of the coast is undiminished by weather or season. Its potent enchantment is
palpable in the calmest summer day or the stormiest winter tempest. Here, you can feel
the world breathe.

And the coastline is a place of transformation, too. Trees that have grown on the land for
a hundred years break loose and are tossed into the sea by storms. There they are rolled
by the waves, rubbed smooth by the sand, bleached by the sun and in another storm,
thrown back to the land in new, twisted, polished shapes as driftwood. Over the ages, the
rock cliffs are worn down to boulders, then rocks and pebbles, and eventually to sand,
each grain a miniature universe of its own. I come to this powerful, sacred place, I open
myself to the energies at play, and I too am transformed.

At the beach, my thoughts are free to roam. They can dive into the depths of the sea, fly
over the supple ocean surface to exotic lands half a world away, float among the clouds
and the gulls, or launch into space to explore the stars. But more often than not, my
thoughts resolve to delve deep into my heart. Exposed to the raw forces of nature, and
the dynamic energies at play, I somehow feel called to discover whatever may be hidden
from view.

My thoughts are in words and words are my playground, but the coast speaks the
language of emotion, with a power that will not be so easily contained. At the coast, I
speak to the universe and the universe speaks to me in a language of the heart – a
language of dreams. Sometimes I pine or yearn, but I cannot say what it is I pine for.
Sometimes I cry but cannot say why. Sometimes I thrill just immersing in the
exuberance of life. And sometimes I find inner stillness and peace.

At the thin line where massive continent meets vast ocean, and the physical and mystical
energies come to dance, my soul unites with these transcendent and resonant forces; I am
changed forever by the touch of Pacific Coast Dreams.

Unpublished work © 2009 Dan Dorman