Metaphors on a Beach

During today's rainy beach walk, I was looking for signs--things out of the ordinary that might give me insight into my current life and decisions a la Anne Morrow Lindberg. It's interesting to note what I found:

1) a dead seal
2) a yellow plastic sieve shovel
3) a double rainbow
4) a pair of perfectly useable black flip flops
5) several kelp holdfasts that had been tossed ashore by the rough water

Hmmm.... The seal could be a reminder of the impermanence of life. Or it might signal that a "seal" in my life has been broken. Or it could just be he was in the wrong place at the wrong time....

The toy shovel seems to be designed to allow sand to run through and to catch any impurities that might spoil the pristine scoop. I need to let the same thing happen in my life--let the good stuff keep flowing and weed out that which is not.

The double rainbow was amazing. At one point, it actually started IN the ocean and rose into the air, something I've never seen before. The colors were so vivid too! It felt like hope and gratitude poured

from the sky. How beautiful is life!

The flip flops were a reminder to "hang loose" and take it easy--don't get so serious in my approach to life.

Lastly, the holdfasts reminded me there is a time to "hold fast" and a time to let go. It takes a lot to dislodge these chunks that secure the kelp in the ocean, but it's all part of the life cycle. Now I need to figure out what it is I'm supposed to hold onto and what I'm supposed to let go of!