As I stroll along the beach’s edge along the Chesapeake Bay, I watch my dogs run and splash into the water with not a care in the world. They are beyond happy, and with every wave that hits them, their smiles grow across their face. I’ve been truly blessed to have lived near the water most of my adult life, and there is one thing I have learned, that treasures abound if you dare to open your eyes to the wonders around you.
Since moving to the beach this past year, I make it a habit to pick up one of nature’s treasures I find upon the sand. Sometimes it’s a unique rock or an albacore shell, other times it’s sea glass or even the discarded shell of a crab. I tuck the treasures into my hip pack and continue on my journey, wondering what special piece of nature I might find next. To my dogs, they stop long enough to look at what I have picked up, but to them, seaweed and kelp are their treasures. They grab it off the sand and munch on it as if it were the most precious delicacy.
When I lived in Key West, my children searched the shores for conch shells. When we lived in Tampa, they searched the beaches of Sarasota for sand dollars. And when we lived in California, they realized that there weren’t any treasures unless you considered the beautiful girls and boys as treasures of the beach. Hawaii held many different treasures depending the shore you trolled; shells, lava, rocks and fish skeleton were ample finds. And as I filled jars of peculiar finds, I realized that none of these treasures were as precious as a different kind one finds on the beach.
To me, the greatest treasures found on the beach are not the tangible ones. They are the moments spending time with family picnicking under an umbrella. They are moments of children learning to stand in the surf as it knocks them to their knees as they are rescued by a parent. They are moments of laughter as someone emerges from the surf without a top on or their pants down to their ankles. They are moments when your favorite dogs ride a wave to shore and dive back in to do it all over again.
Treasures on the beach are wondrous and plentiful if you only look around you. You will witness rainbows across the water, mist that engulfs you, and sunsets that light the water with hues of pink and purple. You will capture the love of a couple walking hand and hand as the waves threaten to cover their toes. And you will marvel at castles in the sand, sculptures that rise out of nowhere, and man-made pools dug out by children.
A treasure is defined as anything a person greatly values, and to me, these moments spent at the beach are more precious than anything tangible found along the sandy shores of a body of water. For I am inspired by the love I see around me, as families gather, lovers rendezvous, and nature’s beauty shows up to set the stage to create memories to last a life time. I don’t know what treasures await me, when next I travel these sandy shores, but I know that whatever wonder it is, it will be a treasure I can relive in my memory forever.
Beaches, parks, a mountain trail, a desert vista, even a cafe on a sunny day … they really do bring out the moments we’ll treasure forever. Beautifully said, Vikki!
Oy, misspelled my own name.
Thank you Greg. For me being in nature truly does conjure up great times I have spent with others and just the pure sight of Mother Nature’s work is a treasure.
That’s a lovely post, Vikki. I’m on Cape Cod and can totally relate to your story!
Congratulations on your book! I hope many of my readers will pick it up and share it with those in their lives that love to read and love to hear about great leadership.