I remember so clearly a time in my life when I was overwhelmed by my emotions. In grief over a loss, afraid of what the future might bring and unsure which direction to turn. I was paralysed, anxious and doubting my abilities to make any kind of decision.

In desperation, I took myself to the beach with a book hoping that some time out might quiet the voice in my head which was keeping me awake at night. Round and round the thoughts would go, telling me a horror story of my life. I was in a cycle of dread, afraid to be awake and terrified to sleep.

So on this particular sunny day, I chose a quiet beach with big skies and white sand. With my towel spread on the sand, I lay down to read. As the words rose up in front of me, they seemed to blur, fading into the background. All I could hear was the birds in the sky, the gentle breeze through the trees and the splashing of the waves as they broke gracefully onto the sand.

Putting my book to one side, I closed my eyes and resting my head on my arms, gave myself up to the world around me. The shrill cry of a bird as it celebrated the freedom of flight, the soft movement of the leaves in the trees and the warmth of the sun on my back.

Slowly but surely my body began to relax, my mind began to quiet and soon there was nothing but the rhythmical beating of my heart which kept pace with the sound of the waves as they greeted the shore before retreating to gather again and again. In this moment I became one with the ocean and part of something so much bigger than myself.

My soul flew and I began to heal.

Please take a couple of minutes to listen to the ocean waves below and find peace to take forward into your day