Thoughts on a Pier

There’s nothing like walking on a pier to make you realize there are two sides to everything. On most piers you can only look closely at one side at a time. This is Harford Pier in Port San Luis in Avila Beach, California.

If you walk this pier and look to the right very far, you can see all the way to Morro Bay. You know you’re seeing it because you can’t mistake Morro Rock. If you look all the way to the left, you will be looking south toward Pismo Beach and the other piers on Avila Beach. From both sides you will see ocean and fishing boats and seagulls. They are constants, and part of both views.

If you look down from the pier, you will see water, seaweed, birds, and creatures who live in or from the sea. You wonder about their world, but you know it was made for them, not you. If you look up, you see the sky, the realm of the birds and clouds. You cannot live there, either, but you can dream of limitless opportunities. A wise man will meditate on the creative power it took to make all that he sees from the pier and be led to worship. He will know from whom to seek guidance in making his decisions.
If you look straight ahead and walk far enough, you will come out at the ocean end of the pier where you can gaze on ocean as far as your eye can see. There is no end to the possibilities of where you could go if you were able to go straight ahead. If you turn around, you see where you have been, and the way back to what you have left. The pier is an in between place.
Maybe you are on a pier in your life today. You want to see all the possibilities from every side, and to consider your world from every perspective. It’s a thinking place, away from the rush of daily life. From the pier you can decide which direction you want to explore next. Once you have made your decision you can return to the safety of the land end of the pier, the secure place you left behind. From there you can begin your journey to what you saw from the pier.
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