Embracing the smallness

I took this photo on a trip to Florida a couple of years ago. Any time I am near a beach, it is sacred time to me to be able to be up early enough to absorb the silence surrounding a sunrise. As I walked down towards the beach with my coffee and camera, I breathed in the salty smell, heard the crashing of the waves on the sand, and embraced my smallness. I noticed a man beside the lifeguard stand, with his arms crossed, gaze intent on the sea and the rising sun, and felt a kinship with him and many others who were soaking in the beginning of a new day. Just pausing to realize how little we are in the grand scheme of things makes me feel even more surrounded by grace. We go through our lives feeling so smug and with the illusion of being in control, yet each day is such a gift. Each day is such an opportunity to be better, to do more, to live more fully. As big as it all seems, we are never alone...