A Timeless Treasure: Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea
“I began these pages for myself, in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my own individual balance of life, work, and human relationships. And since I think best with a pencil in my hand, I started naturally to write.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, on a solo trip to Captiva Island off the coast of Florida in the early 1950s, wrote those words along with a collection of short essays that became the timeless beauty of a book we now know as Gift from the Sea. I’m so glad she took that solo beach trip. So glad she decided to write while there. So glad her words became something I could find at my local bookshop nearly 70 years later to give me courage, insight, and inspiration for the seasons of life I find myself barreling toward.
It’s a book about the magic of days spent by the sea, to be sure, but it’s about so much more.
It’s also about the value of learning patience, finding space for solitude, and remaining strong during both busy and not-so-busy seasons of life. It’s about how to find your center, how to own your true self when life gets overwhelming, when distractions multiply, when your life season takes a sharp turn toward more mature relationships, emptying nests, and shifting priorities. It’s full of wisdom that left me awe-struck more than once and had me checking the original publication date (1955) again and again, amazed by how timely and truly timeless the insights in this book are all these years later. If your heart tends to need a little extra care when seasons change (& for us northern hemisphere folks, as summer’s end will be here in a few days and back-to-school season looms near), I think this book might be worth your time.
I’ve been reading this book on my front porch every morning, sinking deep into words like these:
“The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere.
That is why so much of social life is exhausting; one is wearing a mask.
I have shed my mask. . .
what extraordinary spiritual freedom and peace such simplification can bring.”
I took this book on a solo bike ride to the beach last weekend on a day that was particularly emotional, when my edges were too sharp, when my soul too achy, and smiled as I read on page 88:
“Woman must come of age by herself.
This is the essence of ‘coming of age’—to learn how to stand alone. . .
She must find her true center alone. She must become whole.”
I took it to the lake after work a few days later and felt the hope in my heart rise to new levels as I read page 78-80, and this:
“For is it not possible that middle age can be looked upon as a period of second flowering, second growth, even a kind of second adolescence?
It is true that society in general does not help one accpet this interpretation of the second half of life.
And therefore this period of expanding is often tragically misunderstood.
Many people never climb above the plateau of forty-to-fifty.
The signs that presage growth, so similar, it seems to me, to those in early adolescence:
discontent, restlessness, doubt, despair, longing, are interpreted falsely as signs of decay.
In youth one does not as often misinterpret the signs; one accepts them, quite rightly, as growing pains.”
Then, sitting by the water at the lake that day, I heard wise words of my own come through, a message from my Authentic Self. I wonder if they might mean something to you today, too ⤵
➳
Dear One,
Something beyond your wildest dreams is just around the corner.
I know you feel it.
I know it’s making you feel itchy, on edge, discontent, and that’s okay.
You really were meant to create, to play, to lead, to teach, to paint, to decorate, to bake, to write, to dream.
Your favorite songs, places, books, recipes, poems, and paintings light you up because they hold messages you need to hold onto,
Maps you need to follow.
Stay open.
Keep listening.
Keep making things.
Keep dreaming your dreams.
Keep looking for opportunities.
Let your love and yourself go wild.
Don’t give up now.
Don’t shy away from your desire.
You were meant for that thing you’ve been dreaming of—you know the one.
Let it come to you.
Let it come a little closer this very moment.
Let it come in its due time.
➳
Wherever you are this morning, whatever’s been on your mind and in your heart lately, whatever season you’re navigating, I hope something in this little blog lifts your heart and gives you a little extra courage to go after all you were meant for.
Every single bit.
(& if you ever want to chat about it, I’m just a “Send” button away)