Take a deep breath. Can you smell it? It is the ocean, invading your nostrils with warm salty air.
Open your eyes. Can you see it? The sea lies before you in endless ripples.
I am standing on the shore. In my head, I hear Lee Ann Womack sing, “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.” I get it. How could you not feel small next to such a vast body of water, especially if you are small, to begin with? At 5’0” I am beyond small; next to the ocean, I am a speck.
Smaller still, this butterfly can relate to my dilemma. So small, he clings to a leaf as he surveys the local jungle. Perhaps, feeling small is a matter of perspective.
Feeling small can have negative connotations. Small is often equated to insignificance. Isn’t bigger supposed to be better? If you are a larger predator, small can make you an easy lunch. And speaking of lunch, isn’t lunch supposed to be bigger? We can supersize our order, go to the all-you-can-eat buffet, or order just about any item on a standard menu and receive a portion bigger than most folks should consume in one sitting. We like to get our money’s worth, don’t we? What would be our reaction if suddenly the meal we ordered at our favorite restaurant arrived at half size for the same amount of money? Perhaps, we should question our preference for bigger, especially if our waistline has any say in the matter.
Meditation
It is easy to miss the point. Smallness also can be a source of comfort and that is truly what I feel when I stand beside the ocean. It is the sense that life is bigger than I am. I need not know everything or solve every problem. My speck could and will be gone at some point and the world will go on without me.
What an interesting twist, that such a thought should be ultimately comforting. There is peace in letting go of what I never had control of, to begin with. There is tranquility in embracing the mystery of life without the need to figure it all out.
To this, I should be content with whatever part I am privileged to play in making the world a better place when such is possible for a speck. Of this much I am certain; the world is far stranger and infinitely more beautiful than I will ever know. And that is enough for me.