In the cool sand I lay as I marveled at the grayness of Plymouth, Massachusetts after the sun ducked down below the purple and orange swells of the Atlantic, leaving trails of fire on the horizon and glitter on the water. The stars opened their sleepy eyes, shining their light and dancing in the twilight. I watched as the Earth swallowed the remaining evidence of sun, and the sky was replaced by blackness.
Although I was alone, I did not feel alone. There was life and movement all around me. The waves crashed onto the shore, slapping the old rock fractures. The night breeze washed over my face and tasted of salt, blowing my hair in swirls and raising goosebumps; I was not cold, however, content. Digging my bare feet into the sand I felt it cold, dry, moving over and caressing my toes sending shivers up my spine. The ecosystem living and breathing; taking me in as I took it in.
The universe above my head reflected in my eyes, the starlight teeming as more stars awoke. The universe looked back at me seeing the universe inside my eyes, where stars twinkle and intellect streams in vast distances, mysterious as space as it delves for miles and miles.
My experience on the beach of Plymouth's Newton Park in the middle of summer last year was a wake up call: Why does it seem that humans no longer appreciate structures such as the stars, forests, ocean waves or ancient rock fragments? These are ancient members of the ecosystem that drastically dictate how we live our lives, and yet instead of catching fireflies in your neighbor's garden, staining your jeans with green grass pigments to lock glowing insects in a recycled mason jar, we find ourselves engorged in the virtual world.
Nowadays, humans seem to find more pleasure in reposting, tweeting, and sharing images of themselves or the processed meals that look "nice" on the outside but are slowly poisoning the body as well as the human mind. Convenience, we exclaim! Our eyes being sucked from our skulls to the screens and advertisements declaring that life can be less work and life can be more extravagant! "Update to the IPhone 6s," "Lease this new Nissan." In the end, it leaves no trace of extravagance. It makes us hollow shells of humans that don't know what it is we are looking for anymore.
The human race is young in comparison to the universe, and as I saw the stars reflect in the still Atlantic waters, wrap around and under me, I felt like an infant lost in time. The million year old starlight making my skin porcelain, pearl. The universe holding me; it missed being gazed at and admired. The ocean's steady breath calming as its lungs moved up and down in small swirls. The grains of sand, older than existence, giving rest to my wary bones. My phone buzzed; swipe "decline."
I felt human. Not the human we think of, wearing a suit and tie with a brief case on their way to work. But the raw naked human that I have evolved to be at this very moment.
With a beating heart and blood in my veins, I was real and this was the moment happening, juxtaposed to a "like" received on a selfie "3m ago," so many moments missed and taken for granted.
The brisk air filled my lungs with it's life flame and I felt no need to worry that I was not wearing designer clothing, that I was not wearing make-up, that my brown hair was in breeze blown knots. My phone buzzed again; I powered off.
This is the cure to the human race, I thought. Rekindling our relationship and opening our eyes to the beauty in front of us, not on Pinterest, etc. It is imperative that the modern human reconnect with this ancestral ecosystem. To it we are merely a species of inconsistent, immature beings. An infant species.
The universe, being billions of years old, witnessed our birth. The Earth and its conditions are what gave life to us along with trillions of other species. Our world has never changed, but somehow we cannot remain consistent.
We need to grow up.
