Every time I get a chance to contemplate the ocean, I get the same feeling: I know nothing. Whenever  the cold southern waves invite me into their waters, I follow them in a mixture of curiosity and caution: I never know what they might have reserved for me.

During my end of the year trip to my hometown and surroundings I visited people and places, but I also revisited some feelings. I revisited the melancholy of hearing the Cathedral bells, the loneliness of windy corners in the streets, the passion for conversation in family gatherings, and the magnetic , though sometimes dangerous, freedom of being one with the ocean.When my feet change from sand to water, I usually complain about the cold, but welcome the touch. I love to watch the waves come and go and I´m always curious about what the high tide might bring to shore. On Wednesday, after two days of furious wind, there were two dead sea turtles and a dead sea lion, besides millions of seashells. Some years ago, the Southern Atlantic tide brought a shipwreck to Cassino Beach. That´s the cycle of life.

We all have our ways of connecting with Nature, whether we´re aware of them or not. Some people see nature as a mother, some as an enemy, and some others as a slave. I see nature whithin myself. I have my mountains, my oceans, my trees, my high and low tides, my tempests, my hurricanes, my sunny days but, most importantly, I have that mixed feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about life that makes me appreciate every single experience, as if it had been brought by the waves.

How do you connect with nature?