Do You Like to Walk along the River?  

What a wonderful response! I can almost see it in my mind's eye.

Ah, another kindred spirit! Welcome to myLot and I am honored that you chose my discussion for your first response. Feel free to send me a friend request and I will be happy to add you to my list of myLot friends. I hope to see much more of you here in myLot.

Oh, yes, I quite forgot to mention the lovely sound that the water makes, especially if there are some rocks which make the water clap and swirl. It seems as though the current is carrying all the word's troubles away.

I like to go barefoot in the sand, too, but I grew up along the river and used to go out on my little boat, so the river is very special to me. I can just see you staring at the sea!

Oh you are so lucky to grow up so close to Mother Nature. Well, all we have here are concrete! Anyway, we do have a few beaches but those are usually packed with people during summer time and you see more people than sand *laughs*. Usually when I need to have that calmness in life, I would go at night or during autumn or winter, just get myself lost in the thoughts. It's interesting how Mother Nature could comfort a restless soul sometimes *smiles*. Oh yea? You can see me staring at the sea? Haha.

My head often needs clearing!

I'm not so sure my soul needs shaking. But walking along a lake or ocean is very peaceful. My river is just below the dam, so there is a lovely lake very near, too, where I also love to go. However, there are no "facilities" there. It can seem quite desolate sometimes.

Someday I must show you my painting of a woman sitting under a tree reading a book entitled "La Mer" -- did you ever reflect on the fact that the words "mere" and "mer" meaning "mother" and "sea" are so close in sound and spelling? Just like Mary, and now you have me on a tangent because of this beautiful page:

http://www.sacredsites.co...

Of course this is touched upon in Dan Brown's novel The DaVinci Code, and before that books such as Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but all that is from the writings of men. Saintes Marie de la Mer, France, is one of the places in the world where I have never been but still hunger to visit. Machu Picchu in Peru is another.

Yes, you have put your finger right on it! For me the ocean is so overwhelming that although I love to go there, I do not feel it quite on the same level as me. The ocean is like a powerful magistrate whereas the river is my friend.

Exactly. In the spring and summer we live not far from the ocean, but in the fall and winter we live several days drive inland, on the river. When I go to the ocean I feel like a visitor, but when we come back to the river, I feel that I am coming home. Driving toward it as we wind around the hills, I wait breathlessly to catch a glimpse of "my" river winding in and out far in the distant valley. When I finally see it coiling like a blue snake hiding in fields of green, I can breathe again.

It has been years since I have been in a canoe. Yes, it is a tragedy when the places we love to walk are ruined by pollution and in so many cases nowadays, litter from thoughtless people, isn't it! I can remember a time when everyone in a public place picked up any garbage they saw lying on the ground and disposed of it instead of bring their own in and dumping it.