Gift From The Sea

In her introduction, Lindbergh suggests initially that her efforts to find a new pattern and Rhythm of Living might be of interest only to herself. As she says, “Many women are content with their lives as they are” (15) and are not searching for something different. Yet, as she begins both writing and engaging with other women, she sees that this is not the case. As Lindbergh says, “Even those whose lives had appeared to be ticking imperturbably under their smiling clock-faces were often trying, like me, to evolve another rhythm” (16). The outward appearance of contentment and harmony belies a dissatisfaction with conventional life. What is more, this outward appearance intimates what people are trying to change. In what Lindbergh calls “the porcelain perfection of their smoothly ticking days” (16), these women seek respite from constant social performance and expectation. They are looking for an escape from—“creative pauses” (16) within—the normal rhythm of time. This mechanical tempo, dictated by the clock, thrusts them from one performance to the next, leaving little space for self-awareness or exploration. The sense of a mechanical rhythm and the dreary, repetitive mood associated with it are evoked by Lindbergh's alliteration: “Porcelain perfection” is both an image, like “smiling clock faces” (16) that convey a sense of standardized soulless life, and the harsh, monochrome tempo of city life.

In contrast, a quiet beach provides an ideal antidote to such busyness. As Lindbergh notes, “Rollers on the beach, flapping herons across sand dunes, drown out the hectic rhythms of city and suburb, timetables and schedules” (22). It is not merely that a beach is a pleasant or relaxing place, nor is it just that it permits one to avoid immediate social demands. Rather, the beach allows for a shifting of rhythms “back into the primal rhythms of the sea-shore” (22). By observing the ebb and flow of the tide and the birds on the dunes, one is gradually acclimatized to a slower and more Natural Rhythm of Living. This is a tempo at which one is not constantly aware of time or of the need to be “getting things done.” Rather, at this tempo, it is possible to simply be still and let things flow at their own pace. After a certain amount of time, this new perspective starts to apply to one’s thoughts, too. Amid this new place and pace, one starts to develop a new way of thinking. This is not the thinking of the social world in which thought is a tool that is called up and used for certain ends. Instead, it allows the mind the freedom “to drift, to play, to turn over in gentle careless rolls” (22). Such thinking is content to observe and not force or prejudge what the mind offers up. According to Lindbergh, this type of thought will allow new and vital answers to the questions of living. Further, the natural flow of language and setting encourages this state of receptivity in the reader. For example, she mentions that by the beach, “Pads rest smooth and unblemished as the cloudless sky” (21). Such language, and her evocation of the beach and tide, promotes a mood of repose that reconnects the reader with the more natural rhythm she discusses.