Life's a Beach

I love going to the beach, don't you? I thought I'd make a few comparisons between beaches in the UK and in the US.

Coming from a land-locked country I had only ever seen beaches on TV. And the ones they generally show are the fantastic white sand beaches of the tropics. Can you imagine my disappointment when I arrived at Brighton Beach?

Have a look at this picture. Here we have the world-famous Brighton Beach, along with the equally renowned old pier in the background. It is, I'll admit, quite a breath-taking scene, the way the pebbles slop down gently into the ocean, the soothing sound of the waves softly stroking the coastline. You even find an occasional fruitcake surfer who has decided to brave the icy grip of the North Sea.

Drive a few minutes down the coast and you are rewarded with a view the like of which you'll never witness anywhere else. Here I'm talking about the majestic cliffs of Beachy Head. Looking out from these you are immediately caught up in the splendor that is England. Where else can you get scenic pictures like these:



I found that my disappointment soon turned to wonder at the opportunities with which I was faced here. Sure, I wasn't going to be able to go swimming in the sea (unless I wanted to turn into a meat popsicle), nor would I be doing much sun-bathing. But there were so many other - new - things to do. Things I hadn't even imagined doing at the beach.

On the other side of the coin, I recently had the chance to live on the far side of the Atlantic, in Florida, for a while. Here you have a completely different view of things. Take a walk on a beach on the Gulf Coast and you have the classic white sand beach, complete with tonnes of tourists, weird and wonderful umbrellas, and countless other odd and ends customarily associated with beach life.

This is where you go if you want the hot sun, the cool waters and the genuine "summer holiday" feel of the beach. It's what you would expect of any tropical getaway, replete with all the warmth so typically absent in an British resort. I also thoroughly enjoyed myself here.

So, are they really that different?

It is my opinion that the thing that makes them different is solely viewpoint.

What I mean by that is this: if you are going out to the beach and have determined to have a good time no matter what, and if you are of the frame of mind that you will not be disappointed, come what may; then it doesn't matter where you go, or what you do. All the fun and enjoyment that you have in your life comes from within you.

Look back at your own life. Haven't there been things that made you mad or sad, and when you look back on them you can only laugh? Haven't there been times when something happened and you reacted, and other times when the same thing elicited a different response?

Well, what was the difference?

Our lives are filled by many varied and sometimes difficult situations. What really matters in the end is how you view them and what you let yourself think about them.

Well, that's my opinion, for what it's worth.