I saw this man while shooting at Ocean Beach the other day. He stood by the edge of the water in a full business suit, just staring out into the ocean for minutes on end.
I started to imagine him, coming out to the beach every day after work, watching the sun set and letting the cool breeze wash off the spiritual grime of a workaday life. I can imagine him, every day, looking out into the ocean and thinking to himself, One day. one day I’ll buy that boat and leave it all behind. One day I’ll burn my suit, set sail for the horizon, and never look back.
I suppose we all have those “One day” fantasies. God knows I have a few of my own (coincidentally enough, also involving casting aside the shackles of daily life and heading for the hills or the ocean). The carrots at the ends of our sticks that keep us going. The pots of gold at the end of the rainbow that help us make it from one day to the next.
The thing about carrots and pots of gold, though, is that you never reach them. Ultimately, you need to see past the carrots and the pots of gold and find something real, and reach for that. Then you might just have a shot at that little piece of happiness you want for yourself.
One day.
