One word best describes the sea: mysterious.
This mystery, I think, is the fundamental attraction for me. It takes little imagination for it to symbolize a deeper mystery, the one behind or underneath or above the confusing events of my life, the unseen mystery that holds and is at the center of things. . . . Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach — waiting for the gift from the sea.
— Donald McCullough, The Wisdom of Pelicans