Staring at beauty

This is the end of a four day weekend. Friday June 10 was the National Portuguese Pride day and today (Monday) June 13 is an Azorean holiday. Since I work in the Camara Municipal, all the people I work with daily were excited about the extended holidays. Many people travel during the long weekend and we were no exception. We spent four days in Sao Miguel, the green island of the Azores. I won't write about it all--I want to highlight the hot springs as a wonderful relaxing therapy and the beautiful oceanic view in Mosteiros, a small town in Sao Miguel. The picture on the left is at Mosteiros. We stopped the car on the narrow coastal road and got off to spend some time on the rocky shore. Naturally, some people excitedly climbed the volcanic rocks on the beach, others carefully got closer to the water, and I just sat there--I didn't attempt to climb the rocks or get closer to the ocean.None of that would have driven me closer to being in contact with it all so I decided to memorize the patterns, the waves, the sound, the wind blasting on my face--all my perceptions. I remembered the daily prayer my NOLS instructor would do each day--we barely touched nature during the prayer but we were in sync with with the 500-year old trees and the direction of the wind that would be our friend or foe for the day. I wish I could take that 1-hour meditative experience, that view with the sun rays at that angle, that piece of Atlantic Ocean and its vastness on the horizon, that whole thing, and relive it, but this is the best I can do. The ocean was soothing to my view. The water came and went and I was certain that it was going to do just that while I was there (and for geological eternity) but at the same time the ocean was violent. The water splashed on the shore and on the shore layers that had formed as a result of erosion over time. It's not that I was not expecting the waves to break on the volcanic shore but sometimes it hit my ears too hard and then water flooded pools of rock--the tide was coming up. I could see some AP people running from the water from the side of my eye. I kept still. Reader, I am not going to focus on imagery or my choice of diction but try to imagine. Of course, this evoked all sorts of feelings in me--I was happy and sad and thankful at the same time. I laughed at my own insignificance in "the big picture" and then admired the greatness of nature and felt thankful to be there. I felt sad because I knew that the moment would the over but all that matters is that I was there when it happened.

Laura R.