Beach Lessons for Life

ISLAND IMPRESSIONS

BY FR. TOM PURDY, RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH

Chalk it up to overconfidence. Perhaps it was Sunday brain – the phenomenon pastors experience after long mornings of worship.

Maybe it was a kind of denial, which is a form of stupidity, I suppose. Whatever it was, I knew better, and still got a sunburn. I rationalized my choice not to put sunscreen: I was sitting under a tent on the beach. Surely the tent’s shade would protect me. Of course, it didn’t. Despite camping out under the canopy for the duration of the visit, all the still-pale winter bits of skin were bright red the next day. I’d say it was a rookie mistake, but I’m not a rookie anymore, and plenty of locals still get sunburns too. I just hope I don’t get a chunk of skin carved out by my dermatologist later in life as a result.

In truth, our beachgoing has gotten more routine, organized, and easier over the years we’ve lived here. When we first came to St. Simons, we could have rented sherpas to carry all our beach items. Granted, the kids were small, meaning they couldn’t carry their own chairs and sand toys, but we still took too much stuff. I recently sold my beach carts, because I realized we hadn’t used one in years. We now operate under the “if you can’t carry it, don’t bring it” mentality. This includes the pop-up canopy, although the tent isn’t a regular part of our beach accoutrement. We each carry our own beach chairs using shoulder straps, and we typically have a beach bag and a small cooler.

Traveling light to and from the beach makes it much more likely that we’ll actually go to the beach. If the process is too hard, it can be difficult to work up the motivation needed to load up and trek out to the sand. Not going to the beach seems like a terrible waste of one of our best natural resources. Combine that with the restorative effects of surf and sun on the soul and going to the beach becomes a necessity. It was once a part of our Sunday afternoon Sabbath keeping and, although we let it get away from us, we’re recommitting to regular beach time, especially on Sunday afternoons.

We are pretty routine in our beach destination too. We tend to go to the Coast Guard beach more often than not. It is the largest parking area, which means it can have the largest crowds too. We’ve learned, however, that if you simply walk a little north (easy to do when you’re traveling light) the crowds thin out quickly. There’s also a lot more sand north of the Coast Guard entrance than there used to be a few years ago.

Some locals cluck their teeth when I tell them we go to the Coast Guard beach. It’s considered by some to be “the tourist beach.” That may be; it’s certainly one of them. I can usually find parking in the lot, though, or in a parishioner’s nearby driveway, and I can’t say the same for other beach entrances. Add in the bathrooms and showers, and it becomes an easy choice.

I think my beachgoing learnings are paying off in other parts of life too. The concepts of traveling light and seeking restorative practices, in general, could be the building blocks of a life well lived. In my world, they fit perfectly into the teachings of the church. Christian tradition warns us off from accumulating too much stuff, or at least letting our stuff take center stage in our lives. When it comes to seeking the restorative, most of us are not very good at it most of the time, as we may lose sight of what’s important for our souls when we’re prioritizing time and navigating lists of competing obligations.

When we fail to follow our routines or fail to answer the call to restore our souls, and when we get weighed down by the stuff of our lives instead of living life fully, there’s a chance we’re going to get burned. We know better. We might be naïve, overconfident, or just in denial. But it will catch up with us one way or another. Me? I’m going to go sit in my beach chair and ponder this for a bit. With plenty of sunscreen on, of course.

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