it is raining, has been, and will be raining. just a wee little storm that has caused flooding, mudslides, car accidents, power outages, downed trees, and debris laden beaches. it even brought a few sea-faring vessels reluctantly onshore here in santa barbara. my roommate reported this to me, so we thought “well that might make for some artsy photographs.” we grabbed the gear and headed down to east beach to see what photo ops we could find/create.

the lighting was incredible and the boats were cool and colorful. and i found an old bottle. a photographers haven. it was so good to photograph for fun. a chance to hang with my roomie. a chance to reflect on seasons. on storms. on life.

i have always known that people love art because it allows them to express themselves, to be creative, to “get it all out” and to be free. but i never really got that. i love art and photography because it is fun and because it tells a story. i like stories. but today, for the first time, i had one of those “self-expression” moments as i was out in the wind on the beach…

life is like a beached boat. so often i am faced with times of tumultuous weather, with stormy seas, and with discomfort and angst. i am challenged, broken, and battered by the winds. sometimes i find myself in a place where i think i should not be. i have run aground or have been uprooted, or i am simply not in my natural habitat. i am broken and stuck and i have no idea how i am going to get myself back on the high sea, back in the routine, back to where i am supposed to be, where i an called, the place for which i am purposed. i have no fuel, no traction, no mobility. all the while, i sit there unable to move, only to be tickled and taunted by the waters, longing to taste the salt of the sea. once i have tasted and seen, i want it all the more. the sand slowly washes away from beneath my haul, grain by grain, inch by inch. i wait. wait to be rescued. wait for some fuel. wait to be dragged back into the sea.

then there are footprints in the sand. and then suddenly, i taste the salt of the sea, and feel the wind in my sails. i am refueled. i am ready to take on the high sea and all that lies within. i have been saved.