Oceans

I like the Ocean. It Understands. It’s deep in places, shallow in others. When it is shallow, all you see are the pretty colourful things and the twinkling light bouncing off the happy blue-green water. There’s an occasional shark lurking in the shallows, but we don't see it. We never see the shark until it’s too late. All we see is the cheerfulness and the white foamy waves crashing joyfully on to the beach. Over and over and over and over and over again.

Just like a big happy person. Always madly on the move, cheerful, and smiling. Making the whole world laugh and fall in love with their goofiness. The shark is usually around too. It always is, but we chose to ignore it. Like we always do.

The ocean is calm.

It just lays there vast and blue-green. With seemingly nothing and no one troubling it. It lays there calm and still and goes with the flow. Still twinkling, still cheerful. Still hiding a whole lot more than it shows or people think they can see.

The ocean is confident.

It is proud. Dignified and majestic in its glory. No one trifles with it or underestimates it. Most people are more than a little afraid of it. It is huge and mysterious. And no one is ever quite sure how it will behave. It may be calm and welcoming on the surface, but sometimes people sense the darkness it hides. Or are uncertain and therefore as it is human nature, dismiss what they cannot understand. Or they go in search of a safer and prettier lake or river. The ocean is too independent. Too wild. Too raw. Too unpredictable.

No one can see the bottom of the deep dark, dark places of the ocean. That’s where all the horrors live. All the fish with the million sharp teeth, blind milky eyes and their own fish light on their faces. Fish that can bite you in half or eat you whole. There are some rather sick I feel, and curious people who venture into those depths. There’s always some of those. Always at least one. Everywhere. They must know what is down there.

Just like there are people who must know what is inside someone, what makes them tick as it were. Most people couldn't care less. And are happy with the shallow, pretty, non-messy parts. They couldn't possibly be deeper than this, they feel. They tell anyone their life's story the first time they meet them. They wear their hearts on their sleeves. I’ve seen all there is to be seen and more than I probably needed to. They couldn't possibly contain anything more in them! All there is to see is the sunshine smile twinkling off their eternally cheerful faces.

Just like the ocean.

Not many people are morbid enough to check. And just because they check, they are not guaranteed answers. The darkness is too black and deep, and there will always be secrets. One person may discover one, two, three or maybe quite a lot. Another may discover a few more. But there will always be secrets the ocean holds to itself. People might guess what they are, they may not. But the secrets will still be there. Deep, dark and more than a little frightening.

The ocean changes.

In the blink of an eye, the happy smiley twinkly water can grow dark and sullen. It doesn't often do that. But the fury of the ocean has few to compare to. Its sadness and rage comes and goes. And most of its despair and uncertainty is hidden. Most of us never know the anger of the waves far away from the shore. Again, there are people who have witnessed it. Who have died or worse lived to tell the tale. But most of us are lucky enough to witness just one storm on the ocean our whole lives. And we never see beyond its calm, twinkly, peaceful fun-ness.

But I like the Ocean. It Understands. It Was. It Is. and It Will Endure.