Marine Moments

The Beach Today

If the week has started as a tough challenge, a harsh shock after a weekend, take a moment to find the softness to cushion you and give you a break. The picture of the beach above is one of softness; misty air, no wind except a slight hush, gentle waves just lazily folding as they break… all soft edges, gentle rain kissing skin obscuring shapes and edges, into fuzzy and fluffy outlines. It is like being in a pastel picture.

Did you know?

A rainy day is good for your mental health. The sound of rain is often used for meditation because it is proven to have a calming effect. Some people listen to recordings of the rain to get them to sleep or reduce anxiety.

Rain also has a special smell, a blend of evocative happy memories mixed in with a herby, earthy smell. This aroma is called ‘petrichor’ and occurs as the rain drops mix with the natural oils in soil and plants. To breathe in this smell is to tap into deep rivers running through time, back to our ancestors who would rejoice on catching a whiff of this perfume, as it meant that rain was coming and water was close by.

Visually, rain brings clarity. Before it rains the water droplets in the air can magnify images. In the bay here at Westward Ho, Devon, the island of Lundy can appear much closer on some occasions. This is a prediction of rain to come. The rain already falling between myself and Lundy magnifies the Island.

When the rain reaches you, often vision is limited by the clouds and falling drops, but once the rain stops, it will have literally washed the air clean, rinsing out dust and pollen particles, making things clearer and sharper in definition. Lundy will be back in its usual place, but appear clearer than before.

Reflective Moment

The natural environment provides us with so much to be grateful for. If we let it, it can enhance our whole existence by providing regular top-ups of calm, rest, pleasure (releasing all those happy hormones that improve our physical health), and repair.

I always feel more surrounded and touched by the natural world when it is raining, as it seems to reach out and try to rinse me as well as the air. And on a beach, looking out to sea, the world seems all water, up, down, forwards and backwards.

Looking out from a dry space at the rain can be restorative as well. The drum on the roof and windows, the gushing in the gutters, and woosh of spray from passing cars…all being washed, cleansed and wiped afresh.

Rejoice in the soft falling rain.

Sound of the Sea Today

Can you hear the patter of rain in the background of the gently sighiing of the waves?

Let the sounds wash you: A pillow of calm for a restful minute or two.