The Gathering of "Desert Saints"

This morning we went to the beach together. And we crossed the laguna at low tide, together. And there we walked along the surf, looking in many directions. But, as you may guess already: (almost) Nothing striking or surprising or thrilling to percieve. The sea being rather calm. Very few walkers on the Zandmotor. Here and there a gull passing by. Some terns doing their diving acrobatics. And a few Cormorants skimming low over the sea until getting out of sight.

But it is just that silence, relative remoteness of culture - I don’t overlook the floodline waste -, spaciousness, high skies with multiple clouds. A breeze, the constant rustling, almost soporific. All this breaks you out of everyday consciousness with its framing preoccupations. At least that can be the meaning of ‘crossing the laguna’ and setting foot on the emerged sandbars of the peninsula. Of course I realize that that entire peninsula itself is a modern work of engineering, an experiment in new, low cost coast protection, but it is technology mixed with natural elements: sea streaming, winds, ebb and flow. More flexible than the old basalt stone wave breakers …

From a great distance we had noticed a gathering of Cormorants almost at the other side of the sand plains. So we made a detour and crossed the ‘mini desert’ in order to approach these favorite fishing birds and try some photo’s. I kept a distance in order not to scare them so I show them here not ‘in close up’. But there is something amazing in their gathering on the dry hot sand. I’ve asked myself what we could possibly learn from these birds. They gather coming in from different directions, some are leaving to fish, others to return to their nests in the dunes.

They are not only solitary fishers but also start in small groups. And here they gather to dry and communicate. Always on spots like this not far from the water edge and where the sun is burning and the sand is hot. What might we have to learn from this remarkable Gathering of “Desert Saints”, I asked myself today. We have to return to this Gathering Circle of the Zandmotor Desert and take more time and have a closer look and meditate before transforming the whole of these experiences in Being There into a spiritual vision.