However, if you've lived on one or the other coast for most of your life, you know a walk on the beach bears subtle but important distinctions from one iteration to the next. There is a certain although not overly complex taxonomy to walks on the beach, that draws out differences in experience and purpose for such walks and makes for a sophisticated palate from which the feet and spirit consider, choose, and indulge.
Of course, there are always the substandard walks, which while fruitful in other ways, deliver minimal benefit pertaining to that expected of a Walk on the Beach. For example, some walks on the beach have the audacity to require you to look where you are going as a result of frequent occurrences of rocks, uneven terrain, squishy once living blobs, muddy puddles, erratic patterns of seaweed, or other such nonsense. While these walks may be enjoyable, they technically belong in the category called hikes, because a significant part of whatever is going on in the brain has to be dedicated to avoiding a twisted ankle, a face plant, or similar undesirable ending to what would otherwise be a lovely excursion.
There is also the substandard Walk on the Beach incurred by inappropriate clothing or otherwise missing outdoor accoutrements. How was I supposed to now that by the time I got to the beach, the 40 mph winds were going to drop the temperature by another ten degrees? How could I possibly forget sunglasses when I have at least three pair strategically placed so that I wouldn't dare get to the beach without passing by at least one? What do you mean I can't walk on the beach in high heels? After all, I had an hour for lunch at this or that conference and the beach was just a few blocks away, so why not? The list goes on, but substandard, whether induced by terrain, weather, or my own stupidity... is still substandard.
One step up from the substandard Walk on the Beach is the perfunctory one. That's the walk where your inner yuppie forces you to take the walk solely for exercise. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with exercise, a Walk on the Beach taken only to get exercise is a little too goal oriented for this category of activity and is to be avoided. So sayeth the elves who live among sandy toes and salty kisses.
Moving upward in the extensive Walks on the Beach classification system, some of us who've adopted a canine variety or two, can testify as to the value of the dog Walk. As long as no rotator cuff is torn as part of the antics that go on when dogs find themselves both on a leash and on the beach, the dog Walk is typically laced with simple joys. Play at its best, frolicking in the surf, and stopping and sniffing to the delight of the canine heart can only infect the owner of such dogs with the same.
When times are hard or grief lingers, it may be time for a Healing Walk on the Beach. This one has many variations, but my own is simply to walk until it hurts no longer. And, returning to my starting place, I may find the hurts of my heart have ebbed, but the pain in many of my muscles has made up for it. Soreness and ache of the muscles are simple pains, though, compared to the deep, troubled, and complex pains I sometimes carry on my own heart.
Sometimes, friendship requires a Chatting Walk on the Beach. This one happens when two people, typically but not always two women, indulge in non-stop conversation while strolling along the sand. While the sounds of the rolling surf may be hard to recall after one of these walks, warm memories of friendship and of sharing one another's lives are often many and memorable.
When one is alone, the Walk on the Beach may turn into an Incubation. This requires that no attention is given to where one is going, so that the mind can wander in and out of La-La land at its leisure. In so doing. the mind can relax enough to find a solution or creative approach to one of life's dilemmas that would have otherwise remained tucked away in an untouchable crevice in the brain. While incubation can happen in many places unencumbered by the crazy busyness of modern life, a Walk on the Beach, under the right circumstances, is one of the most promising.
And, finally, digressing back to the simple. Sometimes, a Walk on the Beach is just a walk. No purpose. No category. No end result. Just a Walk. Warm sunshine. Gentle Breeze. Soft or wild wave. It doesn't matter. Walks on the Beach, in all their forms, on any coast... are one of life's greatest treasures and often, are a sure remedy to many an emotional or spiritual ailment.
