Patience and faith
A beach on Captiva Island, Florida, 2013
“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient…
Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith.”
— Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Few women of any generation could claim a life as full of adventure, triumph and tragedy as Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Yet her concerns were similar to those we often face today: how to find stillness within the chaos of balancing impossibly complex demands, and how to endure unbearable sorrow amid great blessings. Her classic work Gift from the Sea has inspired millions, and seems only to grow more relevant as time passes. If you can put your hands on a copy, I highly recommend you enjoy this wise and calming work. But in the meantime, visit the sea — if not in person, then go there via the many blog posts, photographs and words so readily available online — and meditate on its timeless lessons, conveyed with patient repetition in wave after wave of unceasing beauty and rhythmic motion.
For some stunningly beautiful photographs of the ocean as seen from Antarctica,
see this post from Cindy Knoke!
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: contemplation, meditation, nature, ocean, sea, stillness, wisdom
Defeat Despair 
“I must go down to the sea again,
to the lonely sea and the sky.
And all I ask is a tall ship
And a star to steer her by”
The sea and the sky: vital elements in the life of a pilot.
Thanks Daddy, I think Anne Morrow Lindbergh would agree. I have always thought that sea captains and airline captains have a lot in common!
Thinking and praying for you all. Give Jeff our love and also Matt. When is the grandbaby due? Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, we just learned last night that the grandbaby is due on July 19, Megan’s birthday! And it will be a boy. My family seems to run to boys; my parents only have one great-granddaughter but this will be the fourth great-grandson! Thanks so much for your kind thoughts and prayers.
Is this book still in print? Have not heard of it.,
MB
Yes, it’s quite a classic and has been issued in several editions since first published. I think it’s the most famous of any of her books, and she wrote several.
Julia, I hope this has been another good day as we near week’s end.i so love Gift From The Sea. My mother-in- law gave the book to me very soon after I married Bill and I always consider it a special gift. I have bought and given away many copies of it over the years.
It’s a very cold beach today,breezy.I admired it from a distance and thought of your blog.
Until tomorrow, Sheila
Thanks Sheila! I never tire of reading Gift from the Sea. I too have given many copies of it as gifts over the years. I enjoy cold days at the beach if the wind isn’t too chilling. In the movie Julia which came out many years ago (with Jane Fonda playing Lillian Hellman) there was a wonderful old house on the beach where she would sit and write, and sometimes it seemed very cold and windy outside. It made me want to go to the beach in winter.
Another movie that I love is Something’s Gotta Give. It’s also a beautiful beach house setting for a writer and so much more! Have you seen it?
Sheila, I have seen that movie and had forgotten about the beach house. I remember the mixed up glasses, something I can identify with now that Jeff and I BOTH have to wear them! I enjoyed that movie the first time, I’ll have to watch it again and keep an eye out for the beach house.
One of the things I loved best about Ascension was that no matter where I was I could see the sea. It was beautiful and overwhelming. I missed it when we left.
I knew Ascension was very small, but I never thought about your being able to see the water from anywhere. I wish I had been able to go see you there. I guess that would have been about my only chance to see it!
A Great grandson is awesome and inspiring. There is a Great Grandmother in Tennessee that is above Cloud 9 and July 19th can’t get here soon enough. May God Bless this birth and all the family. We are so excited!
Thanks Larry, if this baby boy is like his father, we might be waiting just bit longer than July 19 (Drew was almost 3 weeks late!) But that will just give us more time to get excited. 🙂
I love to be by the water so much, perhaps this is why. I stopped at another fantastic blog a moment ago. Kha writes at Awake to Life.wordpress. I always feel so fulfilled stopping there. She’s really very special. You might enjoy her post today too. She writes in part:
‘If all you did was put your hand on your heart and wish yourself well, it would be a moment well spent’ – The now effect
I also enjoyed the link Julia. Stunning photo’s. Really makes me feel small in a big big world.
Thanks for the link – very lovely thoughts and pictures. I had visited that page before and I think I got there from your blog. The squirrels pictured today are so cute! And I love the waterfall background.
Welcome 😀 I see she’s already posted again, ha the quote I guess was yesterday. What a sweet little guy. The background on here site is really gorgeous too.
It amazes me how many talented people are out in the blogosphere. I think it is already changing publishing as we have always known it. I love bookstores and hope they don’t ever disappear, but hopefully blogging will be a way for people to connect with each other more.
yes, there’s something calming about a walk along the sea. i’m working on a post for tomorrow that shares one particular golden pre-dawn walk. z
Thanks so much, I will look forward to seeing your post! For me, being at the beach is almost hypnotic. I never feel ready to leave, I just have to force myself to go when the time demands it.
yes, it connects us to a very peaceful state and is a balm to the soul. i’m about to be out of ‘pocket’ for a day, so this one will go in the queue for tomorrow morning!
z
Thanks for visiting – hope you have a wonderful cyber-break! 🙂