Marine Moments

The Beach Today – Monday!

Why creep apologetically into a new week? Let’s jump, run and launch! In Westward Ho! it is a windy day (“Blustery” as Winnie the Pooh would call it.) and the wind is a great motivator for ‘launching’ yourself into the day. On a windy day your lungs fill deeply with fresh air even without trying, and you have to push through the force of nature’s panting to move forward, engaging all those muscles and your will to go – you are already halfway to committing to something exciting!

There is no better way to tuning into nature than having it paw you in the face; to feel it so directly. Beautiful vistas on a calm sunny day have their place, but on a windy day, nature jumps out, snatches you by the hand and encourages you to run full tilt along on your journey.

Did you know?

As a small maritime island, we are greatly affected by the winds, each direction bringing their own weather. The Greeks had names for all the wind gods, known as The Anemoi. Boreas was the North wind, Zephyr the West wind, Auster the South wind and Eurus the East wind. In Greek mythology their characters reflected the impact each wind had on Greece, and its fleets of ships for waging wars. However, in the UK, the winds do not match their Greek relatives in character due to our global location. For example, Zephyr the West wind was welcomed as a harbinger of spring and brought fair weather along the Mediterranean, whereas in Devon, the West wind sweeps in from the Atlantic Ocean and brings rain!

In many cultures the wind symbolises the ‘spirit’ or the ‘breathe of life’. In Hinduism, Wind (Vayu) is the source of life breath (prana) and sustainer of life in the body. In Christianity, the Holy Spirit was depicted as a wind filling the room where the apostles were hiding in fear after the death of Jesus.

“And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting”.

Acts 2.2

Reflective Moment

The effect of that wind energised the apostles. It took away their fear and they went out from that moment to preach the gospel. Let the wind energise you, breathe in the air and laugh into its face (Passers-by will think you are mad, but laugh anyway!). Such an uplifting way to embrace the week ahead!

Today, Boreas is here importing cooler air from Greenland, aggressively bending the trees, sending early autumnal leaves high into the air and anointing the beach walker with smacks of sea spray. The beach is busy, and noisy, waves are crashing and growling as it claws at pebbles, tossing them high in a clatter and rumble. The energy buzzes through the air and fizzles through the finger tips.

It is tempting to hunch against a cold wind, to pull up the collar and ‘defend’ against it. However, I recommend, every now and again, not doing this. Embrace the cold, the wind and the energy. Breathe it deeply – you can do this wherever you are on a windy day. When you take your lunchtime walk, invite the wind in and let the spirit move you inside as well as out.

We cannot see the wind itself, but we can see its impact all around us – we cannot see the breath of life either, but we see people’s actions all around us…. Today my personal reflection is on what my impact will be today, how will the energy of life play out in my actions? How will I make the most of my day now I have made the effort to capture some of the wind!

In the video below you can hear the wind against the microphone, but mainly you can hear the hiss of the waves as they repeatedly roll against the pebbles.

Every day is a new start to be constantly curious to see which way the wind blows.