Day 10 of 31 days of Books Off My Shelf

Day 10

Hey! 

I think my recent trip to the beach had something to do with today's choice.  This treasure was published in 1955 but the content is timeless.

Gift from the Sea 

 Anne Morrow Lindbergh

  During a vacation to the beach, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was inspired by what she saw in nature around her and in the unhurried days she experienced during her stay.

" The Beach is not the place to work; to read, write or think.  Too warm, too damp, too soft for any real mental discipline or sharp flights of spirit... The books remain unread, the pencils break their points, and the pads rest smooth and unblemished...No reading, no writing, no thoughts even----at least, not at first...Patience, patience, patience is what the sea teaches.  Patience and faith.  One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach --- waiting for a gift from the sea." 

Anne Morrow Lindbergh took pen to paper and these meditations on topics such as life, love, family, solitude and contentment took form.  She stresses the importance of finding space that allows a person to contemplate, create and just be.  She felt, even in 1955, that the modern conveniences of everyday life threatened to take over and complicate our lives rather than simplify them.

"Too many activities, and people, and things.  Too many worthy activities, valuable things, and interesting people.  For it is not merely the trivial which clutters our lives but the important as well.  We can have a surfeit of treasures--an excess of shells, where one or two would be significant. " 

Such truth and wisdom lie in her words...

Happy Reading!


Mimi

"The sea is his,  for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." 

 Psalm 95:5  NIV Bible