What the ocean does for me

Years ago in Missoula, just a couple years into our life there, I became friends with a guy who was getting his Master's degree in Wildlife Biology. Tim Van Deelen. I went on one of his outings once to inspect some live beaver traps

One day, talking about I don't remember what, I told Tim how deeply I was affected whenever I would look up at the mountain peaks that surround Missoula, and see only trees and rock and grass - no asphalt or brick. I said something like, 'It means so much to me to be able to look around and see a place that is not choked with humans and their structures.' He replied matter-of-factly, 'We all feel that way.'

When I look out at the ocean, I feel that same way: I see something new and wild and untamed by me, (relatively) undeveloped by humans.

In another, different way, watching the ocean is like watching a campfire - it has the same quality of never-ending variation and form. Deeply satisfying.