Minutes before this photo was taken, that beautiful calm the sunset imposes was missing, as the waves crashed almost recklessly upon the shore.
Then the transformation occurred. Snippets of orange and pinks began to appear on the horizon. My focus changed from the power of the ocean to the magic forming in the sky.
As nature painted her sunset, her spectators were entranced. Couples embraced or held hands, singles watched quietly, and children ‘wowed’ as the sky became the backdrop for her masterpiece. It wasn’t just a visual masterpiece. It was an emotional one that touched hearts. It brought lovers closer together. It confirmed the love of the ocean to the individual walker, runner, or surfer. Nature reached out with her sunset to touch us with peace, and love.
I no longer saw the threatening choppy ocean in its darkening colours. I saw a beautiful sunset bestowing a loving calm. Feeling enriched by the experience I left before the light faded, and the roar of the ocean became obvious again.
With the ocean and the river as with love and life, change is inevitable.
The river is still, the river flows. On its journey to the ocean, there are rapids and there are billabongs, just as in love and life there is calm and there is storm. Love empowers us. We feel complete, invincible, protective. Then the rapids come and we feel threatened. We retreat, or we cling for dear life, as control is no longer ours.
If only I could I live my life feeling and bestowing that loving calm of a sunset to all that I touched. To the rapids, to the choppy, and the storms in my life. Is that what unconditional love is? If it is, am I truly capable of unconditional love?
Is love an innate emotion that we can choose to either express or repress, deny like anger or other forms of emotional pain for instance? Are we better off living life liking, rather than loving? Can we live life liking, rather than loving?
Is there really such a thing as unconditional love?
What about romantic love? Why are there so many middle aged divorced people on dating sites like RSVP, that have been there for years, searching for love yet can’t find it, when there are so many people on these sites supposedly looking for the same thing? Why is it that my parents and others like them are still in love in their 80’s? Why is it that 40% of marriages are expected to end in divorce - and higher for 2nd marriages. Is it really love that people are looking for? Is it really with love that people are living?
phd in yogurtry
Yes, love is like that. Calm. Tranquil. Colorful. Rough. Turbulent. Stormy. Calm again.
Jul 28, 2009 @ 2:02 pm
phd in yogurtry
Oh, and that’s a gorgeous photo.
Jul 28, 2009 @ 2:02 pm
Talon
Beautiful photo, Brigit. You captured it so well.
I think there’s a lot of pressure to find “true love” and I think the idea of it is very romantic, but the reality is completely different. I think we get so caught up with the concept of happily ever after that we forget that people aren’t perfect and relationships aren’t perfect. I don’t believe love is perfect either. Love is…but that doesn’t help us deal with it, does it?
Jul 28, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
frogpondsrock
That is a lovely photo.
Love is a balancing act. It is give and take.
Jul 28, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Eileen Williams
I’ve come to visit your site many times and am constantly amazed by the wonder of your photos. You capture nature at its most striking and then ponder it with your beautifully written prose. This makes for a real feast for the eyes and the mind. Thank you for sharing your singular and exquisite view of our world!
Jul 30, 2009 @ 11:10 pm
Jen
Loved your description of how the awesomeness of nature brings people together. Sort of like a beautiful song playing that the whole beach can hear and appreciate simultaneously.
You ask provocative questions about unconditional love and loving vs. liking. I’ll be pondering those for awhile.
Jul 31, 2009 @ 11:13 pm
brigit
phd in yogurty - my thoughts about love exactly.
Talon - Love is… I like that. Within the confines of relationships, love can sometimes be experienced like a switch that turns on and off. The acceptance of imperfections in people and oneself may just be the key to turning that switch into a dial.
Frogpondsrock - Yes, it is. But it can be difficult to love someone who does wrong, just as it can be difficult to accept love from someone you don’t want love from.
Eileen - Thankyou, your words are lovingly and humbly appreciated.
Jen - Love is something I am learning a lot about at the moment. Funny time to learn about it really. My daughter has left home and I’m alone. Yet I feel and see love often, and I wonder….
Aug 02, 2009 @ 10:05 am
Laura
Questions without answers, my favorite kind. Is love like the sky and the ocean? Two elements that complement each other, sometimes fight with each other, but inevitably find a place of peace together?
Beautiful photograph, thank you.
Aug 18, 2009 @ 9:23 am
Talon
I hope you are well and happy and that life is treating you beautifully.
Aug 28, 2009 @ 1:21 am
Lzyjo
Very provoking! What a gorgeous sunset, have you ever seen the green flash? I heard about it in Hawaii, but I’ve never seen it. I think some people have standards or preconceptions that prevent them from meeting the right person, like saying he/she is “not my type” before you know anything about them. I don’t think everyone is cut out for marriage. For instance, my mom, divorced twice, becuase she is mental/drunk…there are a lot of personal reasons why people can’t carry on positive relationships, with anyone.
Oct 12, 2009 @ 2:38 am