The Long Goodbye
No water, no life. No blue, no green. — Sylvia Earle
I love the ocean. I love to stand on the edge of the water and smell the air, feel the salty breeze, and just listen to the rhythm of the ocean as it ebbs and flows. I lived on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina for two years. Every day was a miracle. There was always something that took my breath away.
I miss being there. I felt more alive, more in flow, and more creative. I worry about climate change, and the effects it will have on this place that I love. I want to return, but many concerns hold me back. The political climate, horrific hurricanes, and constant flooding. And yet, a part of me says, Go anyway. Not returning is like avoiding a sick family member with cancer.
So, maybe I should go back. A long goodbye of sorts. A chance to dance, perhaps, a final time. To live surrounded by such beauty is sacred. It is truly the sanctuary of life that humans destroy everyday. I remember short winter days, taking my dogs for a walk on the beach. The beach was usually empty, the sky blue. I would walk down the boardwalk and see the blue and the sand, and my heart would skip a beat. I told my son, “I want to remember everything about this moment, how I feel standing here as the salty air whips my jacket and blows my hair.” And I do. I can close my eyes and be there. I can smell it. I can hear it. I can yearn to be standing there once again.
I imagine that if everyone felt such reverence for this place, for our oceans, for the animals that walk the earth with us, and for the sea creatures that hold the mystery of the deep, we would not be worried about losing this masterpiece. But, humans are not as intelligent as we expected. They are fools for fool’s gold. They would rather have a McMansion with a postage stamp lot and a Lexus in the driveway. They never notice the unbalanced windows and the fake shutters that serve no purpose, just like they never notice the grace of perfect, the exquisite balance of the sea, its shore, and all that live there. It is a human failure to not stand by the sea in awe, breathless.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. — Unknown
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So perhaps I return to the place I love. A long goodbye to boardwalks that lead me to the sandy heaven, to sand bars that look like treasure islets, and water that never ends, but returns for kiss after kiss.
I pray that mankind will feel the fear of endings that cannot be rewritten. Of finalities that remind us, this will never be the same. And of moments that future generations should experience, but never will.
I love this place. Will you please love it, too?
I hope that someday we will find evidence that there is intelligent life among humans on this planet. — Sylvia Earle
All photos Garren Lamprinakos @ctt956
