Today is day three at the beach.  It’s early morning, a bit foggy but the winds are light and there’s no rain, a pleasant surprise in the typically rainy area. The grasses in the dunes are moist, and already the water has worked its way through my walking shoes to meet its destination: my socks. As I round the corner of the last section of dunes I look out onto the beach. Ah, look at this – last night the beach transformed, again. Yesterday the lines were gentle, the sand soft and light in color. This morning presented itself crisp, dark, with stark lines poised as if to say, "good morning, WAKE UP!".
I was awestruck with the beauty of this living sculpture. A wave of appreciation wafted through me. The memory of yesterday’s beach still remained, though distant. I remembered the deep contours; they stood out over everything else, but today it was so different, with new lines and shapes. Then I realized I was witnessing something of far greater value than what my eyes could see. Here was the essence of the wonder of this world, the ability to renew.
Renewal is something we see happening everywhere around us. We have the life cycle. Birth cycles through to death, then springs forth with new life. But within the greater there are numerous smaller yet vital cycles, such as sleep and awakening, even the beating of our heart. These physical cycles take place like clockwork. Breathing, eating, assimilating, eliminating. Works like a charm, most of the time. So let me ask you, why do we resist the idea of renewal in other areas of our lives: emotionally, mentally, or spiritually?
We’re trained from an early age to retain. It starts with toilet training, and transcends into an intellectual level with the countless waves of information we are expected to assimilate during our school years. Not only are we asked to remember seemingly worthless data, but also to tell someone else’s story. We carry with us a lot of experiences and information that is not our own. We are trained to be retentive. While this training is useful and necessary for our learning and evolution, it is one sided. We have forgotten that it is opposites that make us whole. Our lives are filled with “create and retain”, but the true life cycle is create and destroy. Our world continues to survive through the process of renewal. 
We’re given many great opportunities on this planet, most of which we forget to appreciate. Imagine every day, even every minute, the ability to create, experience, and release. Imagine all of this happening within the blink of an eye. Imagine being able to wake up each morning and say, “today, I start anew”. That’s the gift we’ve been given, free to use as we wish.
As I walk along the beach, the same beach I’ve walked many mornings prior, I’m captivated by its newest creation. I think that tomorrow I want to be a morning on the beach.
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