Throughout the history of this little blue planet we humans now inhabit, life has thrived. All be it in fits and starts with the occasional sprinkling of a mass extinction or two, (Well 5 that we know of to date!), allowing nature, the great designer to return to the drawing board to start all over again. During these turbulent cycles though there has been one true constant, unaffected, sat watching as these rebirths took place.
Even though it blankets just about four fifth’s, (That’s 70% in English money.), of this amazing rock that orbits our warming Sun, it almost goes unnoticed
or more taken for granted and that is the great ocean that has long since watched the changing shape of the lands as they have moved like a cosmic sloth around the curves of the planet. As we have already alluded to though, it alone has paid witness to all the designs of life that nature has worked to create over the millennia. It has seen them rise, fall, then finally to disappear for ever. Each in their brief turn making room for that which inevitably follows.
This got us to thinking that if there is an unseen true worldly wisdom then it is maybe hidden within those great depths of this almost eternal watery presences memory.
Often does Lamo sit upon the shore looking out at this great guru that he has long held somehow has the answers to all those questions that will collect within our tiny human minds? Nothing more than a raindrop to the vast knowledge held in this tidal mind that has constantly ebbed and flowed keeping a continual watch upon this world.
Life itself was born from its very bosom, it is the parental source from which all life was originally cast. It has nurtured the living children that have roamed both the vast warmth of its belly to those that left to build their home upon the ever changing land. Lest us not forget that even today, as we humans have the arrogance to believe we are the dominant species this planet has to offer, an incredible 94% of all life lives protected within the ocean itself! (Lets just say that again 94% of all life lives in the ocean!).
Remember to that as you take those breaths of oxygen reading this thought of ours, that same Ocean provides 70% of our planets precious Oxygen that is also needed to sustain life. Without it we humans would not even exist. (That is a point we should all take time to remember!)
Back to the reason behind our post though. The film, “The Shawshank Redemption“, quotes the famous movie line;
“They Say The Pacific Has No Memory”
Here at Harlam we do not harbour this thought to carry merit for one second, we put forward this question to you. Do not the oceans hold all those memories within the infinite capacity of its timeless mind? We think the line would be better written as, “The Pacific Ocean does not judge the actions of a life that is but a single ebb to its timeless existence.”, for is not this much more an accurate view?
Has it not during it’s time read the entire library written by all life that has penned a chapter upon the Earth?
Bear in mind the harsh truth that with the almost infinite memory capacity this wonderous watcher has, we are but a few cups of space. It will see us as nothing more than a short chapter in the cycle of life extinctions it has already been witness to. There will be no tears shed as we likely become number six in this continual re-design of natures drawing board. It will continue to watch, adding more notes to it’s library of knowledge long after we have become a couple of small volumes on a shelf of history.
People take this vast knowledge holder for granted, here we think those that choose to believe can hear it speaking through the gentle words of its waves upon those shores of uncertainty that we sit with our unanswered questions.
There is a word that describes people like us which is, Thalassophile, (What a great word this is.), which refers to a person who loves the seas and the oceans. Here at Harlam we are definitely guilty as charged to being defined by this word.
We both conceive that the oceans hold all the answers for those willing to take the time to understand, to respect, more importantly to stop to listen this mighty parent that can also be our best friend. In essence as our title says the ocean does have an eternal memory.
(c) Harlin & Lamo The Lion 2019
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