“Sustained enthusiasm…a wave of creative energy, and all you have to do is ‘ride the wave’.” Eckhart Tolle

I love being alone.

Not all the time, of course. But when I’m writing this blog or taking photos, I love solitude. Neither this blog nor my photography is any threat to NY Times journalists or National Geographic photographers, but it is my fun, my love, my passion.

But, I can’t write on this blog and also converse with someone. Nor can I listen to TV or music. I seek that place of creativity. And it’s only alone that I can go through the portal of my passion.

Alone allows me to plumb my mind for the words I need to compose this written shorescape. Alone allows me to sync mind and camera when I traverse the shore.

I see the work of many photographers on social media, much of it a visual delight. I know many who rise before the sun, before their day job, at least one of whom travels forty-five pre-dawn minutes to capture moments to share. One can’t commit to such a routine without passion.

I see spectacular shots, shots of brilliant sunrises, vibrant sunsets, shots where I feel I can reach into the frame and know the softness of a newborn oystercatcher’s down. Shots where I can almost taste the spray of salt smashing on stone. I suspect many of these photographers come to Long Beach alone, to “ride the wave” of enthusiasm, their passion.

Sometimes I think, “What’s the source of this passion, what’s the reason for it?”

Why does anyone post photos, or show any art, anywhere? Money? Notoriety? Ego? Maybe. But most often it’s something deeper, something primal, I think.

In our soul we know we are never really alone. Our actions, our art, fire off from our passion like a synapse shooting a signal to electrify others.

We frame and shoot with a universal eye. Then share it to say, “This I saw today, this I felt.” When it resonates, we’ve embraced another…an other…with our passion.

I posted this, “First Leaf on the Boards”  on Facebook. It resonated.

More recently, I biked our Long Beach boardwalk, once again alone. And I experienced, once again, what I would have missed had I been with someone, even someone I love.

Life can move with blur-speed or laser sharpness. It’s up to us.

I reflected, mostly on reflections:

I focused on a flip-flop splash,

and a surfer of boards and sea.

I focused on the audacious,

and tenacious.

A hulist whirling in the surf with only her hoop and her passion.

A 9/11 tribute to Long Beach lifeguard and NYC Firefighter, Michael Kiefer. His passion for those professions emblazoned in the sight of the sea.

Last week Juliet Schreckinger’s passion for art and our environment flowed in happy coexistence.

This week Jordan Klausner, a cyclist, took photos of the mural. Jordan’s son, Daniel had his back.

A live mural, they glided wet boards as the sun broke through the clouds, the waves broke from the sea.

They sometimes ride the boardwalk’s 2.2-miles. The Klausner’s schedules allow individual focus on Daniel.

Jordan could have had Daniel in a playpen and worked at the keyboard or phone. But he didn’t.

It says something about a dad who bikes with his almost, one-year-old son. You can see that something right there in his smile…if you focus. 

It’s important to be alone if that’s the portal to your passion. But nothing beats being with someone you love, gliding the boards of Long Beach, or gliding the days of your life…with passion.

Be well,

Leebythesea