Take a moment for mindfulness

The roaring fills my ears and travels into my head. A constant sound that ebbs and flows rhythmically. In other circumstances a noise as loud as this would be annoying but in this instance it makes me feel alive and at one with the elements. A sense of being part of nature washes over me.

Even though I am sitting on a rock further up the beach, a fine mist settles on my skin as droplets of spray are whipped off the waves by the wind. A briny bitterness catches in the back of my throat and the salty ocean tang fills my nostrils. My fingers and nose are cold and damp but my body is warm cuddled in a downy coat and scarf.

On this wild day the beach is deserted of people but an oyster catcher runs along the tide line looking for a morsel to eat. It’s bright orange legs flash a pop of colour into an otherwise grey palette. A white seagull soars over the waves keeping a beady eye out for movement below the waves.

The waves are mesmerising to watch; constantly shifting and changing. Each one begins as a smooth undulating silky sheet, that slowly reforms into a mound before peaking to a creamy white crest that tumbles over itself in its rush to get to the shore. As the ocean reclaims it the wave recedes leaving a delicate white lacy pattern behind on the water.

Slowly but surely the waves creep towards me and I become aware that my feet are in a pool of water. Leaving my rock I take one last look back at the vast expanse of sea that has kept me in the moment this afternoon. I am wrapped in a blanket of calmness as I leave the beach.