Just Skimming the Surface

I am not a religious person.

Not in the organized  I go to church every Sunday and pay my tithe and listen to the preacher/father/reverend tell me what's right and what's wrong while it  has waged wars, shed blood, burned women and children, harboured pederasts, and committed countless other shameful acts - all in the name of God .

Nope. Not for me.

But I am a spiritual person.

And when I need to connect with myself, my thoughts, my life,

I simply go outside.

And there I find peace. And harmony.

And a sense of wonder.

While garden nymphs gather rosebuds and  look for beauty beneath the bushes,

a miracle is beginning  to dawn along the shores of Cape May, New Jersey

.

It's a warm September morning. The air is soft, the seas are calming,

and the flock is ready.

Like all good sheep Black Skimmers, they face away from the windy waters

and do not go gladly into any storm.

There is usually a bit of strutting and jockeying for position, especially by the young'uns, but things get arranged as they should.

'Course, like in any congregation, there's always one who just needs a little more

time to say what he (or she) thinks needs to be said,

before settling in for the sermon.

and finally, it's time to just stop. And let waves of peace roll on over you.

Or not. For every flock must have a dissident.

Oddly enough, the little Sanderling wandered hither and yon,

amidst the flock, pecking and picking at the water's edge.

And not one feather was ruffled!  Well well. Well.

But you know, really?

These are flights of fancy, and I'm just winging it here.

But -  at the end of my hour on the beach, I've touched something incredible.

I feel that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

And I wonder if this little Black Backed Gull is playing charades?

See Pee?  Be Pee?

Oh flock, I don't know!

Here endeth the lesson.