The Ocean Within
A Hymn to the Sea
Topic
Type
Creative Writing | 02:43 min read
Still photography by
Alexander W. Fazio
Words by
Francesca Norrington
In the following words, we hope to bring you back to the ocean. Wherever you might be today, the ocean is right beside you, a companion in your life. The narrative unfolds a transformative moment when, with newfound strength, we soar beyond the familiar and rediscover the enchantment of the world around the sea.
There is a distinct emotion felt when confronted by vastness—an extended horizon that may belittle your existence yet grants you undeniable strength, a vastness as the oceans and as life. Babies possess the instinct to float when dropped into water, a testament to their early days in the womb. Initially shuddering and panicking, they eventually find solace in this familiar liquid realm. Our ancestorial birthing ground, after all, is our ocean.
As we grow, this connection weakens.
We are pulled away from the captivating and expansive horizon and confined within concrete walls. We’re asked, as many surely recall, not to look out the window but to focus on the board. “Pay attention,” as though the outside world doesn’t also deserve our unwavering focus.
Eventually, our legs gain strength, our arms keep our heads above water, and suddenly, we soar. We find the courage to extend beyond the familiar. A moment in our upbringing when the world around the sea is enchanting— our focus is on upending, digging, and exploring every inch of the shores. At once, an entire world unravels before our fresh, unburdened eyes.
Imagination blooms.
Our early instincts prevent us from touching that which clearly does not wish to be touched. Spikes and tentacles are admired from afar, while shells are collected in the thousands – handed ungracefully to a taller figure, never to be looked at again. We stroke the soft seagrass, admire the familiar shape of a starfish and shake the excess sand from our shoes. We run up and down the shoreline, playing with the sea as it reaches out to our toes and coats our shoes before we’re able to skip away.
To find love for the world, see it through a child’s eyes.
View the ocean with curiosity and potential as a canvas awaits paint. Our adult brain glances at the sea, takes a deep breath, smiles, and moves on. Our indifference burdens our inner child, contradicting our instinct to float, interact, and love. Your inner child has locked eyes with a perfect shell half- buried in the sand. A geometric shape crafted over millions of years curved into a miraculous marvel of art. You are overwhelmed with the urge to collect it and examine it. The endlessness of the horizon, the biggest window of all, isn’t your concern; instead, it is the magical creatures that might swim beneath it.
Your mind continues to wander through thoughts of a vast soup of creatures—layers of life intermingled into a perfect balance of ecosystems. A harmony spinning the world round and round. Its structure gathers momentum and clashes with the strict outer world, manipulating shorelines for a perfect softness, smothering even the sharpest of rocks. It consumes what’s left behind, inhaling long breaths released into splendid storms that coat all with a thick, delicious layer of salt. You’ve been captivated by this world, a world of water, far from your own, one you could not survive yet are entirely consumed by—a world that gave you the breath you just inhaled.
Do you remember it now? Take another breath.
The sea remembers our short legs and curious hands. It recalls our joyous giggles at seeing a fish in its shallow water. It remembers our initial ventures into its deeper waters, keeping a watchful eye as we kicked and spluttered, venturing ever further into its glorious horizon.
We have grown since, and our curiosity has been drawn elsewhere, perhaps to people; faces have captivated our sweet attention to a different beauty. But ever so often, we glance out the window, and once more, we marvel at a reassuring horizon, perfectly unchanged, gazing back at us. Reassured, we continue, knowing that we will always eventually return to our ancient home.
Adoration for our natural world, especially our oceans, isn’t an emotion we must learn; it is a sentiment we must remember. It sits calmly within us, warming at the gentle ripple on the tips of waves, golden from the sun. It holds its breath excitedly during storms, thrashing onto the rocks with might. It finds peace in the cold breath of northern winds, resting at the sound of overturned pebbles dragged by a persistent current.
Let this familiarity be your comfort during times when you can’t glance out of the window; allow the sea breeze to enter your mind, let it refresh your thoughts and calm your nerves.
Let its vastness be your freedom to live.