the young man & the sea

when i was younger, i used to walk along the shore. once and awhile jumping in and quickly out of the ocean, but never too deep. never too deep to where i was off the ocean floor. usually, not too deep at all. but as i roamed miles and miles of shore as a boy, i never got worried that i was lost. i never felt uncomfortable near the ocean. i never even felt the strangers around me. i was a quiet boy, but always thinking. the sea though, it calmed my mind.
at the age of 16, i was roaming the amalfi coast in italy. this was like all the other beaches i had been too to the untrained eye. but this, this was the mediterranean sea. a new ocean to gaze at. i could look down the shore as far as it goes and not see a soul. i sat on the beach, just sitting there. staring into the sea. thinking. writing. dreaming, if you will. it put me completely at ease. i remember, it was in that italian ocean where i first stood up off the beach, and ran full speed into the water. i went completely underwater, but still, not far enough to where i was off the ocean floor.
on my last trip to the coast in southern california, i remember staring into the deep waters of the sea. i remember i began to think about all it is that i just said. and i thought about getting in the water. you know, to where i was completely off the ocean floor. i sat and thought about it for quite some time, as i watched the sun sink into the sea. i decided, i could wait. i could wait for a time when i can take someone hand in hand, and walk together, into the most beautiful setting on earth..
peace//