The beach teaches us simple habits that lead to lasting happiness.
Umbrellas. Pools. Tides. Footprints. Sun. Wind. Water. Sand. Dolphins.
What can the beach teach us about happiness?
Here are three lessons you can carry into everyday life.
Beach Lesson #1: Compassion like a dolphin
Just as I step onto our Gulf Shores balcony, dolphins bob above the water followed by a pod of family and friends.
For a moment, everyone happy. Everyone together. Everyone talking, schooling, working, and playing.
But here’s something else: Do you know that dolphins sleep with one eye open watching for sharks?
In a way, they do it for everyone, including us!
History even shows it:
- On November 25, 2020, six-year-old Elian Gonzalez drew a picture of dolphins pushing him up during his rescue from danger in the Gulf.
- On August 28, 2007, the Discovery Channel publicized the rescue of Todd Endris by dolphins from a Great White Shark.
“The dolphins were going absolutely crazy and really saved my life. I feel like they were jumping over the top of me and swarming around me. They kind of created a wall between me and the shark.”
— Todd Endris, 11/16/2007
If dolphins care, don’t we?
Beach Lesson #2: Take the high road
Better than lounging, I like walking the beach.
I love swooshing the tide between my toes.
But, I’m stable higher up on the sand.
Just above the wave line.
The beach reminds us where the least resistance is.
The high road.
Take it every day and enjoy the peace.
Beach Lesson #3: There is no perfect trip
My wife, Judy, was the chief travel writer and photograper for the Dallas Morning News in the eighties and then travel editor and photographer of the Houston Chronicle in the early nineties.
Where does she want to go now?
The beach. Especially Gulf Shores and Mexico.
But when I ask her…
- which beach
- which resort
…she reminds me there is no perfect trip.
But, there is the simplicity of going and enjoying now.
Don’t wait for everything to be perfect.
“Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.”
— Ecc 11:4
The beach reminds us of what matters.
Compassion. Perspective. Simplicity.
And sometimes, the beach gives you a moment you didn’t expect.
Stories like this are part of the reflections I write about life, resilience, and purpose explored on my About Stephen Blaising page.