Ocean is a five-letter word that evokes an infinite amount of emotions. When I used to live near the sea line, I never appreciated the calmness in the air, the friendliness of the spirits, and the desire to live that you could feel walking down the street. Inland, everything is different. You get used to the bustling cities, the concrete structures, and the hurried pace. You grow suffocated as life offers you less and less oxygen to breathe. But you grow.
One day, I opened my eyes, and I had forgotten that there was anything else. I had forgotten the scent of the salty air, the soothing sound of the waves, and how they echo against the shore. I didn’t realize it had happened; I simply forgot it all. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, and just like that, I was wishing my life away, repeating my days over and over again like a scratched vinyl record. I found myself caught in my own eternal loop of ordinary and familiar melodies. All my days seemed to seamlessly blend into each other. I was living in a relentless rotation of routine and responsibility. I was a thread, and the needle of time was tracing me through the same groove repeatedly.
The world around me became a blur of déjà vu, and the colors of life began to fade as monotony took over. Time lost its elasticity, and the passing hours felt like a stretched rubber band, pulling me back to the same starting point again and again. So, I drove for hours on a road that stretched endlessly before me, being guided by an indescribable crave until I reached the seaside.
The sight of the ocean lay calmly before me like an endless canvas waiting for creativity to paint it blue. I ran to the beach and took off my shoes. Barefoot, I felt the sand in between my toes and how the freezing water gave me goosebumps at the back of my neck; all I could do was smile. It was as if the ocean welcomed me back with open arms, and I welcomed it back.
I spent the next few days reading, walking, and breathing, and started enjoying all the things in life that I knew I enjoyed but that in my routine I would not enjoy. The scratched vinyl record of my days started to play a new melody. The cadence of growth and discovery became my new rhythm, and the symphony of experiences unfolded like a masterpiece, with each day building on the next, creating a harmonious symphony of life. The ocean air soothed my soul and washed away my day-to-day worries.
One day, while walking on the dampened sand, waiting for the exact moment where the sun kissed the top of a hill to say goodnight, I whispered to myself, “I used to live next to the sea. I loved it. How could I ever forget how this felt?” As I finished that thought, a breeze brushed against me, gently pulling my hair off my face. It was as if the ocean was trying to hug me, and its embrace felt deeply comforting.
My soul was kindred to the seaside, and my thoughts blended harmoniously with the sound of crashing waves. For the first time in years, I didn’t have a racing mind pounding, screaming for help. I was at peace. And while at peace, I explored hidden coves, collected seashells, and danced beneath the moonlit sky. It was as if the universe conspired with the water to find a way to reconnect me with myself.
After a few days, the weight of the responsibility became apparent, and I returned inland where nothing ever stops. The memories of my carefree days by the sea haunted me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that a piece of me had been left behind. And so, I made a promise. I promised my days would no longer endlessly repeat, but rather flow gracefully, like a river charting its course, encountering twists and turns that led to unforeseen wonders until the estuary leads me back to the sea. Even amidst the chaos, even inland, I had broken the loop of my monotony, and I discovered the magic of embracing change and the beauty of living each day to its fullest, creating a symphony that resonated with the very essence of my being; creating a future that worked for me. An ocean blue future. The bluest one yet to see.