School began today for my children. It is the first time I have had all summer to write, to really write. Since I couldn't write consistently, I tried to stay current on this blog and I did a lot of reading, finding little gems of truth and beauty in the stories. This last book was particularly inspiring in that the prose was really beautiful and the story was so compelling, that is until the end. I've never read 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' but it is quoted throughout the book. This quote in particular is one that I may include in the beginning of my book. It summarizes so much of what I am trying to accomplish. "The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the globe...The sea is only a receptacle for all the prodigious, supernatural things that exist inside it. It is only movement and love; it is the living infinite."
I have an aunt and uncle who live out on an island all summer in Maine. They are sailors and they have a series of cabins on the island. The island is several miles long and wide. Every year, we go out and visit them for at least a day. My cousins are all there with their children, so I get to see them and hike and play. What always strikes me when I go there is how the tidal pools on the island are just teeming with life. There is abundance everywhere. The kids love to crouch down and pluck the hermit crabs from the bottoms of the pools and peak inside their shells. sea urchins. clams. Gulls drop mollusks from up high and crack them open on the rocks. There is algae, seaweed, a thousand little shrimpy things. The water is clear and the environment so harsh that the colors are very vibrant and contrasting. Life is in full swing. The ocean is brimming. I know I go on and on about water, largely because it is one of the major themes of the book I am writing. But it truly is miraculous to me, both overwhelming and reassuring somehow. My character goes on a journey from creek to river to ocean in search of a sense of home and belonging. Ultimately, she reaches the metaphorical ocean and finds peace and buoyancy there. It is lonely and yet buoyant and sustaining. To me, it is the greatest example of the interconnectedness of all things. The waves and tides and abundant life all collaborating somehow in this complex web. Plus, there are these magical creatures there, the stuff of science fiction books. They glow, they have whiskers, their bodies are transparent. It is all fantastical. Things we couldn't think up ourselves. I could go on but it is time to tuck back into the book...
I have an aunt and uncle who live out on an island all summer in Maine. They are sailors and they have a series of cabins on the island. The island is several miles long and wide. Every year, we go out and visit them for at least a day. My cousins are all there with their children, so I get to see them and hike and play. What always strikes me when I go there is how the tidal pools on the island are just teeming with life. There is abundance everywhere. The kids love to crouch down and pluck the hermit crabs from the bottoms of the pools and peak inside their shells. sea urchins. clams. Gulls drop mollusks from up high and crack them open on the rocks. There is algae, seaweed, a thousand little shrimpy things. The water is clear and the environment so harsh that the colors are very vibrant and contrasting. Life is in full swing. The ocean is brimming. I know I go on and on about water, largely because it is one of the major themes of the book I am writing. But it truly is miraculous to me, both overwhelming and reassuring somehow. My character goes on a journey from creek to river to ocean in search of a sense of home and belonging. Ultimately, she reaches the metaphorical ocean and finds peace and buoyancy there. It is lonely and yet buoyant and sustaining. To me, it is the greatest example of the interconnectedness of all things. The waves and tides and abundant life all collaborating somehow in this complex web. Plus, there are these magical creatures there, the stuff of science fiction books. They glow, they have whiskers, their bodies are transparent. It is all fantastical. Things we couldn't think up ourselves. I could go on but it is time to tuck back into the book...
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