Toad Hollow Studio

The Peaceful Center

Hurricane force winds blew over the Isle of Carol last month, so I wasn’t surprised when I found this swirled shell on the beach. I like the Yin Yang fish shaped area where the creature who built it must have sat before it let go of its home.

I imagine it was a calm creature, building it’s home one swirl at a time, as the sea swells and sand battered it. Looks like it knew how to lay down forceful protection in any direction. It reminds me of myself.

From an early age, I was chastised for building a shell around myself. However, the world was too bright, loud, and angry, so I built my shell anyway. It was a necessity. The world muffled through my shell was the only world I could tolerate.

Later in life I realized I was an introvert, and now I proudly claim my shell. My shell is quite convoluted, and I’m the calm creature who sits at the peaceful center of all my beautiful swirls.

However, I don’t think of my shell as a thing made of hard calcified layers. My shell might be made of rays of light that extend farther than I can imagine. Maybe it’s made of strings of sound that reverberate between souls. Or perhaps it’s the pulses of my radiant heart as it expands into eternity.

Peacefully Yours,
Carol