Every summer, my family spends our days at the beach: sitting, swimming and chatting. And every summer, we make a point to walk along the shoreline in search for beachglass. Finding beachglass can be as easy or as hard as you want. You could be frantically searching with your eyes glued to the ground, or you could be casually looking down as you walk breezily. No matter which way you choose, there always seems to be a certain thrill that comes with strolling along the sand, your eyes gazing over the sea of gray and black rocks in search of one tiny, colorful piece of glass. And when you finally catch that spark of color, you can't help but feel like it is a little gift from the lake, meant for only you to find. Sometimes my family comes home with one piece, sometimes twenty. Over the years, we have collected our fair share of beachglass and somehow they have become a little part of our family. A foundation to build on. A treasure to seek.
There are a lot of mysteries and unanswered questions regarding each piece of beachglass. Where did they come from? Why are they that color? How long have they been in the water before they reached us? Now, I have learned the journey these pieces take, and how similar it is to the journey we all take.
Beach glass begins it’s journey right when a glass bottle is thrown into the ocean or lake or whatever body of water it is. It starts its path whole and fully put together, but over time, the waves and rocks pressure this whole to be broken into many small parts. We too are thrown into this world as a whole item. There are not a lot of aspects or pieces to us when we are born. But over time, life happens, and we are broken up into all the facets that make up our soul. The many pieces that make up our whole self. Maybe a piece of you is a dancer, a scholar, a cynicist, or a traveler. We are each made up of hundreds of striking individual qualities: the ones that are apparent like being a cook or a soccer player, and the ones that are less obvious like the part of us that dreams or sings while no one is watching.In the water, after the glass breaks, multiple new pieces of beachglass are created and are left to be very sharp and jagged. Each one, as a new shape, a new whole then wanders off in its own direction, rolling with the tide, edges still sharp. But, as it becomes more and more in tune with the environment, its edges become rounded and the glass becomes soft, like it was always meant to be there. When we experience new stages, people, and events in our lives, a little piece of us is broken off. At first, we are very hesitant with the newness of it all, our edges are very uncomfortable, very sharp, and very jagged. But over time, we learn how to grow into ourselves as we explore this change in our life. We become less scared and more confident. Less sharp and more rounded.
The journey of a beachglass comes to end when its wandering is over and it finally reaches the shore, ready to be found, ready to be cherished. Some pieces may navigate the whole ocean or lake before it reaches a home. It could be years and years before one piece of the original whole is found. Some pieces may never be found. The same goes for us. Those parts of us that go through change and turmoil somehow always find their place in the world. It many take a lot of time for the buisnessperson or romantic in us to finally find a place. Maybe the painter in us never gets found. Just as my family is grateful for each fragment of beachglass we find throughout the summer, we have to make the effort to be grateful for and take advantage of all those special parts of us that do get to find their way into the world.
Just as each piece of beachglass goes on a journey to be found, we as people have parts of us going on journeys waiting to be found. Each becoming more rounded and more experienced before reaching the shore, ready to be treasured.
