After A...........

 After a very late night of dinner, conversation and hours of dancing I felt somewhat bedraggled this morning, so there was only one thing to do.

Head to the beach!

 It had been a wildly stormy night, and the promise of rain lingers still this morning, the sea was rough, waves thrashing against the shore.

After Thursdays paddling I came prepared for another cleansing splash in the salty water.

What I was not prepared for however was the intensity of current, several times I had to steady myself so I would not be swept over with the retreating water.

 Naturally I ended up far wetter than I had expected, chuckling to myself as I plodded along.

 The morning air was still crisp, the sun cloaked from view by the billowy clouds adorning the sky.

 I never fail to be mesmerised by this stretch of beach, no two days are ever the same.

 The tides altering the scene completely each moment.

 Above me a lone gull glides, silently floating along.

Damage from the past few weeks of tempestuous weather shows that nothing can withstand mother natures fury, this piece of a pathway was resting upon the sand only two days ago, now it lay half submerged after another ferocious night.

A group of seagulls enjoying the calm of the morning, warming themselves as the first hint of warmth reaches us.

 Further along I discover that segments of the car park have been reclaimed by the ocean, although the area was roped off I scurried down the rocks to continue my morning amble.

 Up ahead more debris lay, illuminating the power of the seas mighty force.

 It had a solemn feel to it, these once majestic trees uprooted from the earth, the strength it would have taken to achieve this is astonishing. 

 On and on I continued, the wind suddenly intensifying, the waves too increasing their tempo hammering the rocks relentlessly.

 Feeling rejuvenated I looked towards the heavens, it still amazes me that walking in nature educes such serenity upon me, nothing else can match the effects that this simple joy bestows upon me.   

Minutes turn into hours as I amble along, lost in my own inner world of contented bliss, not another person in sight, just me walking in God.

 The divine that surrounds me echoes in every grain of sand, each blade of grass, in the formation of the clouds, nothing is missed by the grace of The Universe.

 Heading back to my car I felt a sudden shift within me, suddenly I was walking in a dream, everything seemed surreal.

 I was aware of each toe as my feet met with the sand, I felt each muscle and ligament throughout my body, I felt the exchange of air as I breathed in and out, I was completely at One.

 Being prompted to watch my step by an inner voice I looked down to see this dying sea snake, bless his wee soul, his fight for life appeared to be coming to an end.
I did not think that sea snakes were found in the waters around here, I was lead to understand that it was not warm enough for them.

There was a mark on his back that indicated that perhaps he had been slammed against a reef, maybe his back was broken?

Such a beautiful creature nonetheless, even as he prepares for his transition his elegance radiated from him. 

 Another causality of the recent storms lay a few feet away from him, a delicate mollusc, another tiny piece of heaven on earth.  

 As I walked I thought that perhaps I ought to be more mindful of splashing barefoot along the shore as one never knows what is being carried along in the waves, but as I continued I knew that I am always, without exception guided from danger, it is only when I fail to listen that I encounter a 'problem'..................