Chronicles of a Corporate Intern

I've heard many times that people feel small next to the ocean.

I went to the ocean today, and after a few spills off the skim board I waded out waste-deep and let the waves crash by me for a few minutes, and I have to say - small isn't how I would describe it.

Forests make me feel small; standing next to a 100 foot tall, 150 year-old tree; that makes me feel small. The ocean, though, is a different feeling altogether.

Splashed up on the shores were hundreds of dead crabs. I was stepping on them as I waded out to sea. It was more than a little eerie.

And I realized, standing there, feeling the current push me and pull me at it's own will, that that is really what the ocean is about. Life and death - in and out, like the waves, like the tide.

And that's how the ocean made me feel: mortal. In any moment a wave could come crashing down on me or a current could sweep me out and I would be just like those crabs. Nothing more than bones for a wandering foot to crush, nothing more than a thought and a memory crushed into the sand.

The ocean may make some feel small - but the ocean isn't powerful just because of its size. And saying it makes you feel small disregards that power. The ocean is mollifying in many ways - as it should be - as we should all see it to be.

Labels: Profound, Ramblings