In 'Gift from the sea' Anne Morrow Lindbergh, writer, pilot, wife of aviator Charles Lindbergh and mother of six reflects on time spent alone on an island off the coast of Florida in the mid '50s. She selects certain shells during her walks along the beach, finding each of them symbolic of an aspect of her simpler lifestyle there.
As the book draws to a close she summarizes these "Island-precepts...signposts towards another way of living" she hopes to take home with her:
"Simplicity of living, as much as possible, to retain a true awareness of life. Balance of physical, intellectual, and spiritual life. Work without pressure. Space for significance and beauty. Time for solitude and sharing. Closeness to nature to strengthen understanding and faith in the intermittency of life: life of the spirit, creative life, and the life of human relationships. A few shells.
Island living has been a lens through which to examine my own life in the North. I must keep my lens when I go back. Little by little one's holiday vision tends to fade. I must remember to see with island eyes. The shells will remind me; they must be my island eyes."
Maybe this should be read in conjunction with tomorrow's post.....
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