I love the sea. I grew up on the eastern coast of Southern Africa (the Indian Ocean), one of the best surfing areas in the world.
I spent so much time swimming, running along the beach, lying in the sun, and going to sleep with the sound of waves on the shore in my ears, that I think my love of the sea goes right to my bones.
Whenever life gets too much for me, some time looking at the permanence and eternal rhythm of waves breaking on a white sandy beach put things into perspective for me, calms me and give me peace.
I am so glad I live on the shores of a huge inland sea in Sweden. It is not quite the same as the white beaches and blue sea in Africa but at least I am near the water.
I am not a fan of swimming out of my depth in the sea because of sharks and other things, but it endlessly fascinates me. We know more about space than we do about the sea. It makes up most of our planet but we have never fully explored it.
I was also raised by the sea in the south west of France and when my parents and I moved to England I was lucky to be living by the sea again. Then we moved to Paris when I was a young adult and I started missing being by the sea. I go to the beach at least one week-end every month and I spend all my holidays by the sea, except for the Christmas holidays when I go skiing.
You are not alone! I, too, am a thalassophile!I grew up in the South West of France and spent most of my life near the ocean. I now live in the countryside, at least 2 or 3 hours away from the sea and I miss it so much. A couple of years back, I had a mini depression and nothing could lift me up. We ended up making an emergency trip to my parents’s place (by the sea) and I felt immediately better. There is nothing like the feeling of getting out of the plane and smelling salt (except maybe the feeling of sand between your toes!…)