I love the beach.  I love to walk.  I love to take pictures.

And a perfectly timed super low tide, summer-like weather (in November!), and the just-right prompt set me off for a meditative adventure (is that an oxymoron?) this afternoon that combined the three.

I’m always surprised by how much the beach changes from week to week…sometimes even day to day.  When I arrived today, I noticed right away that the fairly flat beach had been replaced by a large berm, seemingly to protect the permanent lifeguard structure and upper sandy area from the late fall/winter tide patterns.  And as I began to walk, the super low tide revealed rocks that have been covered by sand all summer.  What was a smooth sandy beach a few weeks ago, is now rocky.

The simple, minimal beauty of rocks and water and sky is profoundly calming and relaxing.  I found myself breathing deeply, soaking in the peace.

Walking further, I found I could walk on sandbars that put the open ocean on one side of me and pools and rivers of sea water on the other.  I was mesmerized by the reflections of light and the soft ripples as the wind played with the water.

A recent Huffington Post article entitled Why Being Near the Ocean Can Make Your Calmer And More Creative seems to confirm my experiences with the beach.

The monochromatic shades of blue, a minimalist masterpiece of blue sky, blue water, blue shadows…caught my eye as I caught this bird in flight.

As I turned around to head back to my starting place, the sun had moved lower in the sky, painting the landscape with warm light.

Oranges and yellows replaced the blues as the sun painted the sky.

A lone bird, the sun multiplying as it is reflected in the water and a minimalist portrait of solitude emerges.

A perfect, peaceful ending to the work week.