Sea fret

Following on  from last week's maritime pictures, I've been re-reading Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea. This collection of essays was written in the 1950s and must have been way ahead of its time, as the writer speaks as eloquently for and to the modern woman as she did for an earlier generation.

Using shells from her beach-combing as the inspiration for meditations on a woman's life, she contemplates the need for and the routes to an existence of balance and harmony. This is simple and sparing prose, beautifully poised writing, and reading it is like taking a long draught of clear, cold water to slake a thirst.

Examining and orienting the 'compass points' of a woman's life: home, family, relationships, work, one's place in the world and oneself, she compares - for example - the oyster shell to the middle years of marriage: "It is untidy, spread out in all directions, heavily encrusted with accumulations and....firmly embedded on its rock." She goes on to discuss creative solitude, the natural balance achieved through stillness, and "the desire to be seen as an individual, not as a collection of functions." She observes that it is misguided to seek constancy, as all life is ebb and flow and intermittency. In other words, it is as well to swim with the tide. There is a lot of wisdom in this beautiful little book.

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My restorative dip in Mrs. Lindbergh's ocean makes me want to read more, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Return to the Sea: Reflections on Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea measures up to the original.

Comments

[Charity]

Gift From the Sea has always been one of my favourites - I just took her Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead out of the library this week, but haven't had a chance to dip into it yet. :0) I didn't know about Return to the Sea, though, I'll have to check it out.

[Peg]

Gift From the Sea - another must read! I like the comparison to the middle years of marriage and the oyster! We have been married 47 years this year, so I am not sure if we have passed the oyster stage or not, but there has been the odd pearl in the process!
Love the dogs from yesterday - black dogs do not always photograph well, do they?

[Nan]

I try to re-read this every year, and just read it last month. I own two print versions, one autographed by the author's daughter, Reeve, but my favorite way of reading it is the unabridged tapes narrated by the late Claudette Colbert. Wonderful words that are meaningful to all women at all stages of life.