Beyond the Shore: What a Day at the Beach Taught Me About Seeing the Big Picture

We went to Hilton Head Island the end of July with my sister and her family, and since the beach is one of my happiest places, it was a much-needed getaway for a couple of days.

We had one full beach day, and while we were in the water that morning enjoying some light waves, we saw some fish jumping not too far from us. I didn’t take the photo below (thank you, Canva) because I was in the water, so no phone to take pictures.

All of a sudden, the lifeguards started walking quickly along the shore, blowing their whistles, motioning everyone to come out of the water and on to the shore. And while the beach wasn’t overly crowded that day, there were still a lot of people enjoying the beach with us.

When we asked one of the lifeguards what was going on, she said the jumping fish had attracted sharks for feeding and that we all needed to stay out of the water for about 20-30 minutes until the sharks moved farther down the shore.

After about 30 minutes, when the lifeguards still hadn’t given us all the go-ahead to get back in the water, a group of ladies came onto the beach, looked around at everyone NOT in the water AT THE BEACH, and proceeded to get into the water.

A lifeguard ran over and asked them to get out of the water and to stay on the beach.

It totally baffled me…the ladies saw that NO ONE was in the water. At. The. Beach. Didn’t they wonder why?

This experience got me thinking…because I’m kind of a thinker…

• How often do we not pay attention to what’s going on around us…even the most obvious things?
• How often do we not pay attention to the advice of those who can see the dangers around us?
• How often do we ignore the wise perspectives of others who have a better perspective than we do?
• How often do we disregard the advice of those who have experienced things that are new or not as familiar  to us?
• How often do we ignore the wise advice of those who can “see” more than we can “see”?
• How often are we oblivious to the dangers going on around us, even when the signs are there?
• How often do we not pay attention to those who can keep us safe—experts who have gained our trust?

It was a great lesson.

Because I know that sometimes I’m in my own little world—possibly thinking about something, and I don’t notice what’s going on around me. Otherwise known as “having my blinders on.”

I need to be more vigilantly watching for things that don’t quite make sense—like people standing on the beach—and ask myself, “Why?” And then I need to look for understanding from trusted family, friends, and experts who have way more wisdom and experience than I do.

What lesson have you learned lately? They are all around us!