© Anne Vincent 2001

Among the Sand Dunes

You are walking barefoot along a wide sandy beach early one morning. The sun is shining and you feel its warmth on your body. The temperature is ideal for your walk - neither too hot or too cold. Take a few deep breaths of the ocean air. Notice the smell of the sea. Taste the salty air.

Walking close to the waters edge the sand is firm beneath your feet. Listen to the gentle sound of the water washing over the sand. Occasionally a wave races up the sand and covers your feet. The water is cool and refreshing.

You begin to wander away from the water’s edge. The sand becomes drier and softer. As you step your foot sinks slightly into the sand.

Gradually the beach widens and you find yourself on the edge of a field of large sand dunes. You scramble up to the top of one of the dunes. Your feet and ankles sinking deeply into the soft sand as you climb. Notice how the sand above you is sliding down the face of the dune disturbed by your feet sinking into the sand below.

Reaching the top of the dune you can feel a gentle breeze coming from the sea.

The sea of dunes stretches to a distant range of mountains. The mountains are shades of pink, brown and beige fading to a distant hazy blue.

Each dune is crescent shaped. Observe how the sunlight and shade emphasize the contours of the dunes. Animal tracks crisscross the surface of the dune reminding you that life exists in this apparently empty place.

Continue your walk among the dunes. The morning sun has heated the sand. Feel the warmth on the soles of your feet as you walk. Glancing behind you see your footprints as a line of shallow depressions in the sand. The sandscape is continually changing. The wind blowing over the dunes moves individual grains of sand up the windward side of the dune to the crest from where they tumble down the other side. In a short time the wind and moving sand will have obliterated your footsteps altogether.

Pause to rest in the hollow at the base of a dune. You are sheltered here from the sea breeze and the air is still. There is not a sound to be heard - not even the sound of the sea. In this secluded place there is nothing to disturb you. Lie back and rest in the silence cocooned by the warmth of the sun above and the sand beneath you.

Having rested for a while return to your feet and pick your way through the dunes back to the edge of the sea. The feelings of peace, warmth and relaxation that you have experienced remain with you as you bring your awareness back to your physical body and your surroundings.