The Sea, Perspective, and Luddite-like leanings

I am incredibly fortunate: I live by the sea. I walk along the seafront twice a day during the week. Sometimes more often on the weekends that I'm here. And I think I have one of the most beautiful water landscapes around - an ever changing sea and sky, with the South Lakeland hills as the backdrop. Stunning.

And not only do I get to revel in the beauty of this scene, I also find it can transport me to an incredibly "unbusy" headspace. Meditative is the word - when I'm walking the shoreline, my steps slowed by the water lapping around my ankles, my mind somehow empties of worries and cares and leaves me simply marvelling at the awesome (in the dictionary sense of the word) beauty of the planet. Recently low-tide has coincided with my walk to and from work - which is wonderful, but I've noticed a feeling of missing the sea. Missing the big mass of water being up close. Feeling like the channel is a long way away. But it'll come round again and I'll have the water crashing against the wall as I walk along - I just never realised, or connected with the fact, that I missed it before. Must be turning into a proper seaside dweller...

This connection with the sea helps put some of my more niggling worries into perspective. The echoes of them remain, but they're not shouting quite so much now. A new look on the question of "am I doing the right thing?" (right now, in general, with my life...) is providing a rather fresh perspective and although I'm still not sure of the answer to that question, I'm feeling more comfortable getting on with what I'm doing - if only for now. Knowing that now's the only time I can really deal with.

But! The Luddite-like leanings of the title are not to be forgotten, nor ignored. Luddite is possibly too strong, but I have a definitely tug in two different directions - one is an absolute amazement at the advances of science, engineering, analysis, thought and creativity. As a population this accumulation of knowledge is phenomenal - and I find somewhat daunting. I've just been reading the most recent issue of National Geographic which had articles both on high end science (notably an article on the sequencing of a not-human, not-Neanderthal but-definitely-something-related genome from a fragment of bone, thousands of years old) and a traditional hay growing lifestyle which has persisted for millenia in Romania. One all about advances and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. The other using tried and tested methodologies to farm in a sustainable way - and the only way the area can support. Of course, it's not as clear cut as that, but the contrast is still stark.

My own life started as fairly academically focused, reading Natural Sciences at university. Then it was into a job in a national level government department and then on to (via a number of other diversionary routes) a position with a management and IT consultancy firm. All along I felt like I wasn't the one with the expert knowledge, but a midwife of sorts (generally of a very junior level) and for some time now I have been working for a company that is focused on one of the oldest healing therapies (if not the oldest healing therapy) on the planet - Touch. The simplicity of Touch is mind blowing (particularly given I'm not simply talking about subjective mind blowing, but scientifically researched mind blowing) and yet for many people it's fallen completely off the radar as an option, other than for "pampering". I'm absolutely clear that the "stood the test of time" things aren't better or worse than the "cutting edge of technology and thought" things - they're simply different. But seeing the differences can be somewhat overwhelming - we're all humans living in the same "age" and yet using our minds in such different ways.

I find the juxtaposition incredibly inspiring, but also at times paralysing. Just one of those things about being human, methinks.