The Beautiful Thing about Sand...

     

"Little Man, Big Waves" Photo by, Kylene Frank - Newport Beach, CA -2012

     I would imagine that most of us are quite familiar with sand. Most people have probably seen a body of water that's surrounded by it. Maybe you live in the desert - where it's never in short supply. Perhaps you've taken walks over dunes with a loved one. The simple truth is that our planet is made up of 70% water, so as you could imagine, sand just naturally comes with the territory. When you really think about sand - specifically it's size (which ranges anywhere from .004 mm-64 mm - depending on the particle) it's downright inspiring to think about the sheer volume of a single beach and just how many individual sand particles come together to form that warm, soft cushion that our feet just love to hug on a breezy summer day in mid-July. 

     It's at this point you may be asking yourself, "Why is this strange dude so infatuated with the thought of sand? It's SAND! Who cares!" And to a certain degree, you'd be right. I mean if it's just sand than what's the point of discussing it? But, just for the fun of it, let's dig a little deeper into it (Pun intended).

     Sand has many uses, and not just those on the beach. For example, if sand weren't so available to us we wouldn't have clean water, agriculturally diverse crops such as watermelon (which thrives in sandy soils, and without which we wouldn't be able to enjoy during our favorite summer activities - like ridding our farmer's tans on the beach). We wouldn't have bricks to make that new shabby chic apartment complex in our bustling cities, situated next to that trendy coffee shop (which is also made out of brick). There would be no glass to make those big bay windows in that lovely house that allows you to catch a glimpse of the sunrise outside in that beautiful world of ours. The folks in the lower continental U.S wouldn't be able to use bags of it to protect themselves against rising tides that create flooding. And perhaps the most important, there would be no more knights in shining armor, no more motes to cross, because our children wouldn't have the ability to create sandcastles (and some adults).

     So you see, sand has it's many uses. Some much more important than just being a simple amenity to our feet. And just as sand is as individual as we are, I believe there's an important lesson to be learned here from it. If something that is not much bigger than the period I use to end this statement can be joined collectively, with others of it's kind to produce something so much more extraordinary than it is by itself, think about what people have, can, and will do as similar creatures on this earth. 

     Human beings have accomplished so much, we've set aside our own opinions in order to achieve great things that we otherwise couldn't have done without coming together. There is absolutely strength in numbers. Sand is proof. We've come together to beat great odds that were stacked against us. We've made great discoveries to improve life, and we're better for it. We've survived for such a long time, not because we worked alone, but because we came together and worked hard to achieve something much bigger than all of us. You see, sand is motivated, just like you and I. It wants to be part of something bigger, whether it's being a part of the next great barrier reef, or in some bag of soil to aid in the growth of some fruit or vegetable that you or I might enjoy. 

     I urge all of you (myself included) to be more like sand, because together we are so much stronger and better than just being an individual. Be a grain of sand, great as you are, and even better together. 

A Morning Routine, Observed.

     i wake up every morning around the same time, with the same routines, just like everyone else. I hit the snooze button three to five times, to give myself less than ideal time to prepare for the day, but it's this delicate process that motivates me to get out of the bed so quickly in the first place. With cobwebs in the brain, I turn the hot water nozzle in the shower on full blast - the choke for getting the motor accepting of fuel. After a combination of both towel and air drying, I grab clothes, change, brush the teeth, brush the hair, and finally make my way downstairs to the kitchen. I skip the breakfast and instead go straight for the coffee - ahh, fuel. I'll sit down for a few minutes, tinker with the iPhone, browse the web - looking to see what's happening in the world.

     it's here, in the last bit of the routine that I want to focus. While scanning the morning news, I'm constantly thinking about what the point even is of doing so? I mean, if you look at 95% of online news journals, television news reports, magazines, blah blah blah, etc. I'm willing to bet you'll see very quickly what's being implied here. Murders, rapes, arrests, terrorist attacks, financial collapses, wars, kidnappings, lawsuits...

     ...not much in the way of hope there is it? So, why is it that we crave that information? What makes it so important for us to hear about something negative, talking about negative things, and seeing negativity first-hand? Curiosity? Is it alluring for the simple fact that it's something different, because it disrupts the natural order of things? I suppose it could be. It's probably a lot of things. I'm much more interested in the long-term effects of these negative catalysts. We know that prolonged exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays makes us increasingly susceptible to skin cancer. We also know that by wearing a strong sunscreen with a high SPF it will greatly reduce that risk. The point here is simple. People are solution driven. We solve problems to make life easier, better.

     i can't tell you what long-term exposure to negative news ads, etc. has on an individual, but I do know how I feel. Sad, afraid, angry, tormented, depressed, sunken - unhappy. I often find myself thinking about what it must be like to have a career in journalism or broadcasting; how hard it must be on the emotions, the confusing feelings because your empathetic, but you're paid to be otherwise. So again, why do we subject ourselves to slow torture? There's a whole slew of possibilities that stem from this, take for instance: Is it possible that by subjecting ourselves to negativity for extended periods of time, we're ultimately changing the human brain - at the cellular level, the perception of life, the chance of being happy? Absolutely! Without a doubt, look what's happening already, more and more people are having difficulty getting themselves happy. We take happy pills because we're told that genetically when some of us were born, we unfortunately just, born "being sad" because someone in our family was. The normal way of living in today's world more times than not, is that you're ultimately going to be unhappy the majority of your life. Why? Does it come down to personality? The way you view the world? How you let outside influences affect your life? Yes, yes, yes.

     The subject here seems grim, and to a point yes, but the solution is simple and straightforward. In its simplest form, it's a matter of not doing something that you don't like. If you don't like mustard, don't eat mustard. Voila! If the news makes us feel a certain way - negatively, don't watch it, read it, or listen to it. Enjoy the things that you like doing. The more we train the brain to be happy, the happier it will stay. Live your life in a loving way. That's the message here, and that's all before 9 am.

*Disclaimer - as much I believe the news is a harbinger of negativity, I'm not suggesting you be completely unaware of what's happening in current events. Our opinions make us who we are - individuals. You should be reading and understanding what's happening in the world. After all, we do live here. I'm simply telling you that negativity is extremely contagious and should be handled with care.