Let Me Tell You Something About the Ocean

Let me tell you something about the ocean, and why I love it so much.

The last couple weeks we've been on and off the water, at the mercy of the weather. Some days out have been flat calm, freakishly so. Most are a little rough, but nothing too hard to handle. A couple have been rough. Pretty darn rough. Halfway up the sea state scale rough. Rain, waves, swell... not pretty.

But I love it. Every. Single. Moment.

And I want to tell you why.

There are many biomes in the world. Rainforest, tundra, desert, prairie. And the ocean.

The ocean is my absolute favourite.

Since I was young, "small" has never really been a word used to describe me. In any sense. My personality has always been somewhat too large for myself, and my voice and opinions... well, they've never been good at keeping to themselves. My room is always messy. I needed a double desk in high school to spread out all my books and papers. I need two screens for my laptop just to finish assignments.

I love open space.

And I don't think it gets any more open than the ocean.

Growing up in the prairies, open space is not a new concept to me. You drive about 10 minutes outside the city and you get fields and fields of tall-grass prairie or farmer's fields. The space is vast and inviting. But still, off in the horizon, you see a small forest of trees. Or a long stretch of powerlines. Fields are separated by farmsteads and machinery, and the occasional cow.

All of a sudden, my vast expanse of earth is getting cluttered. And I can see everything that is there, right on the surface.

Terrain: 0, Ocean: 1.

Once you get past any islands close to shore, the open ocean is flawless. Wide, open space going on forever. Nothing to mark the surface.

And then it goes down.

The ocean is a three dimensional world of it's own. The vast space is not just on the surface, but under the surface as well. It just goes on in every direction in three dimensions forever.

So when I am standing on the shore, or especially on a boat, I love the feeling of immensity around me. Some people have to look at the starts to feel small, but I just need a shoreline.

Another thing I absolutely love is how completely unpredictable she can be. The sea is a fickle creature, not one to be patronized. And I'm not even talking day-to-day changes, that's just weather. I'm talking hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute changes. And yes, you get crazy weather on land too, but the difference is that on land, the change is in the wind, and rain and such. On the water, it not only changes the air around you, but the surface on which you're standing. It's incredible if you think about it! On land, no matter how hard it's raining or how fast the wind if blowing, the ground stays firm and flat under your feet (obviously not in all cases: see sandstorms, blizzards on the snow and mudslides). It's completely the opposite on the water. And to me, that makes it totally spectacular.

Have you been so overwhelmed by beauty that you just want to scream? If not, I feel sorry for you, it's one of the best feelings to ever experience. I have that feeling every time I am near the ocean.

So in case you were wondering, that's my take on why I love the ocean so much more than anything else in this world.

Speak Loud!