Footprints

I went to the beach the other day. It wasn’t to lay out on the sand or go into the water. That’s never been my biggest reason for getting to the beach. I actually love to walk on the beach. There’s something cathartic about walking on the beach and having the sand between your toes while feeling the sea breeze on your face. I can walk for miles on the beach with the sand between my toes, the wind in my face, and the sun on my back. That’s really why I love to go to the beach.

While walking the other day though I began thinking about footprints. I was staring at my feet and looking at the footprints I was leaving in the sand. The ones closer to the water faded as quickly as I placed them while the ones closer to the boardwalk remained long after I walked away. I could even see the imprints made by others. The ones that walked over mine thus leaving a new footprint. It made me start thinking about the footprints left by others in our lives and the footprints that we leave in the lives of others.  

For the footprints that remain, I think about all the people in my life that continue to leave prints. I think back to the prints they have already left. The prints we continue to leave in each other’s lives. What do they think of the prints I’ve left? How do we both reflect back on those memories. Is there such a thing as a ripple effect with even footprints?

But what of the footprints that fade? Do the memories fade with them just as quickly? Or do they always remain just without a visible print left behind with them? What of the other person who left them? I wonder, how do they feel about the footprints that have faded in their life as well? And what of the prints that are gone because a new print has taken its place?

How much does the physical imprint impact what’s actually left behind? I’m not sure. I’d say it probably varies from person to person. But, at the same time I’d say the thoughts that go with the footprints, the memories that go with the person that carries that specific footprint probably never fade, especially if the impact left behind the print was rather significant. No need to keep the physical imprint. The memories just always remain. Sure, they made fade a bit in time. Some may be forgotten in the fog or as life moves forward but probably not all.

I’d say the prints left behind, those that remain as well as those that fade, all shape the people we become. We learn something from each person who leaves the print and even from what the print signifies as it is left behind. For now, I’ll keep taking my walks on the beach while I can. Some walks may be thoughtful while others may just be to feel the sea breeze and see the waves. I’m not sure. I’ll just see where my feet take me.