“Life is harsh at the edge of the sea. The soil is nothing more than wind blown sand with little ability to hold water. There are few nutrients in the granitic soil. The winter gales prune any plant exposed more than others. Salt spray whipped out of surf will inhibit or kill all but most tolerant plants.
But further inland these conditions soften the dehydrating effects of the salt spray lessen, a down wind slope provides shelter from the pruning effects of salt spray and wind, and toward the cedar swamp there is a change to richer soil, able to hold more water. One condition grades into another and likewise there is a transition of plants best suited to each place along the way. - Glen Kaye “Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail” (NPS, Dept of Interior, 1999)”
Growing up on Cape Cod gave me childhood experiences that were magical and adventuresome, and would shape my desire for nature and the sea as integral parts of my day and spiritual being!
This excerpt was taken from a visitor’s guide for the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp one of many of the National Seashore Trails located in Truro , Massachusetts , but it is also a guide for those enticed to live life on the edge. Which conditions are you most suited to? Many of us live our lives at the edge of the sea and thrive. We crave the salt spray on our skin as we face our daily rounds. We love the feel of the shifting sands underfoot and the promise that the landscape will be shaped differently tomorrow.
There will be times we may think we want to move inland. Maybe we need time to heal, rest, or renew. But for those of us who live with our faces to the sea, this is only temporary. We would shrivel from the calmness and monotony of the denser inland soil. Our souls need the invigorating salt air and our eyes need the wide open sea and sky in order to see the possibilities in life.
Sand may sting our faces, salt spray may burn our eyes, but we live our lives wide open to the promise of the vast horizon of white caps or calm seas. High tide or low we adapt to the changing seascape and the predictable ebb and flow of life.
Self Assessment:
- What are three ways you live "at the edge"?
- What are three ways you live more "inland"?
- Can you see a pattern in when you need to be more one way or another? Maybe it’s how you feel about a certain topic, or it’s related to where you are in your life right now.
- Notice where you are with this and honor your self. We often need a balance between the certain and the uncertain to feel alive, but also safe.