Sea lettuce – to me at least – is a bit gross. It is smelly, slimy, has a strange taste and is the kind of thing you slip over near rock pools. It is probably not high up on the list of things to collect at the beach, arguably ranking below pretty shells, interesting pebbles and dead crabs.
But maybe we should give it some genuine air time. It has some incredible properties, especially the way it can cope with incredible fluctuations of temperature, water and salt. It is literally built to withstand the ebb and flow of the tide.
How do we cope with the ebb and flow of life? With times of success and prosperity? But also times of challenge and lack? Sometimes we can feel that life should be all about constant improvement, an upward motion, things always getting better. There can be a real pressure for this at work especially with targets to hit and expectations to meet.
But what do we do when the tide is out, we’re shrivelling up and getting baked by the sun? Metaphorically. Do we have the sea lettuce style resilience to cope in those times and not be overcome by what can seem like failure?
Because the tide will flow back in again.
Thanks to my brother-in-law for the inspiration for this. And to sea lettuce itself obviously.