Having lived in a beach town in southern California my whole life, I took for granted the power of the ocean. Moving to New York City for college quickly made it apparent how much my health and happiness rely on the Pacific Ocean. For as long as I can remember I have loved to run out into the water, dive headfirst into a wave and glide through the rushing current of the ocean. As a kid I would fill my swimsuit with sand and roll around on the beach in it. The only way to get clean would be to get back in the salty water.

Being in New York and away from the ocean as an adult, I miss seeing the horizon and feeling the vastness of the sea. On Manhattan it’s hard to find a place where you don’t feel surrounded by tall buildings, and even on the West Side along the Hudson River you look across and see the smaller skyscrapers of New Jersey. But it’s not the same as looking out into the ocean and breathing deeply in sync with the waves that break at shore. The smell of fresh air, salt water, sand, and sunscreen calms me like no other combination of smells.

These were the smells of my childhood summers spent at junior lifeguards and beach volleyball camps. They are still the same smells that remind me of happy times and make me feel safe. When I visit home for the summer, the smells and sights of the beach combined with the luxury of touching the soft sand with my toes and the shiver that runs through my spine at first impact with the cold water remind me to breathe deeply, relax my muscles, and smile more.

That is the healing power of the Pacific Ocean. It is a living reminder that we are connected not only to all people, but also to the entire planet. We pick up our trash so that seagulls don’t eat plastic and die, so that it doesn’t pollute the ocean and ruin entire ecosystems. We shuffle our feet in the sand so that we don’t step on stingrays, not only so that we don’t get stung, but also so that we don’t hurt the animals.

Feeling so connected to nature is majestic and wholehearted. It takes very little from us and gives a lot back. That is the healing power of the Pacific Ocean.