How difficult it is sometimes to be so far away from the ocean.

It’s a beautiful place, full of wonder and power and love and peace. The desert offers its fair share of wonders as well, from rugged coyotes and mystic owls where wisdom glints in their eyes under the full moon and a thousand stars. It’s quiet. But sometimes, too quiet. The landscape is stagnant, and many times, dead.

The ocean, on the other hand, is constanty moving. The gentle hush and crash of the waves never end and their rhythmic movements captivate any newcomer. The sand moves under the swells of the water, and though the surface may be calm at times and turbulent at others, a different world exists under the waves.

Corals move back and forth, back and forth, endlessly dancing with the invisible currents you can’t see, but can only feel. Fish swirl in and out of each other’s schools and homes, mixing colors and patterns like a kaleidescope display. It’s beautiful. A different world.

That’s why it’s difficult being a fish out of water. There is only so much you can do to connect with the ocean when you’re thousands of miles away and many times, it’s only pictures that cut it. If you lose yourself in the image that speaks a thousand words, and listen closely, silently, ever so carefully, you can almost hear the rush of water.

“the waves of my thoughts
are crashing against me
again & again
the words, the whispers
wash over me
i am drowning
in an ocean of my own creation”

-m.b.j.