Maybe Life Really Is Just a Picnic

Tyler and I will not be seeing family until next week, so on Christmas Day we decided to go to the beach at Half Moon Bay and have a picnic.  As we walked down our usual trail to the beach, we quickly noticed that much had changed. The area above the beach was very lush with new green growth, and many spots were still muddy from the recent rains.  The surf was crashing spectacularly (a friend recently shared the knowledge that this is the season of what is known as the King Tides. Due to the position of earth, moon, and sun, the tides can be both very high as well as exceptionally low at this time of year).  The surf was so high that there was actually very little of the usual beach exposed.  Not many people were out, even fewer dogs, and no horseback riders.  The light was stunningly bright.  We could see a distant fog bank, but it was so far off shore that I felt we could be catching a glimpse of the Himalayas.  Above us there was not even a wisp of a cloud.     

 

We found a good spot to enjoy lunch (in other words, where we were somewhat certain that a rogue wave would not sweep us out to sea), and we simply watched and listened to the surf.  The only other life we saw were pelicans and other seabirds skimming the crashing waves.  All around us the erosion process had been escalated.  The already rutted trails going down to the beach were in places a little difficult to navigate because the ruts had been deepened by the running water from the recent rains.  Because of the high tides, the cliffs also showed signs of recent change, with some places looking quite unstable.  It was a vivid reminder that our coastline is constantly changing, and that erosion is ongoing. Sun, wind, and water will win.    

 

The ocean tells us, sometimes gently, sometimes more dramatically, that humans, despite all our exalted attempts to outwit God and nature, can never be the Alpha and the Omega.  As we picked up some of the plastic littering the beach, I again found refuge in that message.    

  

Such a beautiful way to spend Christmas Day: a picnic on the edge of eternity.