The Aesthetic Sea - I

Date: Sunday 22nd / May / 2016.

The attitudes people tend to have towards seas and oceans, generally, have developed and gone so far from what they used to be in the ancient decades - or at least that's what I think: optimistically, they've become more intimate. Sea represents multiple ideas and themes, for instance: power, tyranny, mystery, influence, loss of loved ones, relationships, sovereignty, hatred, adoration, loss of identity, physical strength, fragility and so on and so forth; it includes enormous themes, abstract or concrete. It, to some extent, depends on how man approaches it and what kind of man he is: fearless, powerful, ironically courageous, weak, stubborn, ambitious, coward, ... etc. Yet people's points of view towards the watery surroundings - have indeed changed - are still changing, developing, as well as maturing over time which is destined to happen due to the technological advancements that affect humanity. Hence man's attitude towards the power of seas transformed from stage one of fear, awe, and unwillingness, to reach stage two of courage, knowledge and identification, which is, by far, considered a terrifically magnificent achievement: a jaw-dropping accomplishment, yet man has a long way to walk in the direction.
Initially, the attitudes towards the sea were dominated by the feeling of inferiority of man himself before the awe-inspiring huge waves and powers of water; this feeling of inferiority was, pretty much, implemented by the inability of men to conquer the mysteries of the huge watery lands; the attempts to vanquish these deep lands were crowned with failures during several stages of man's history.
Yet, in today's life, the fear of sea, partly, vanished, and was replaced by the dream to finally conquer the deep lands. The huge walls of this mystery are slowly starting to divulge their hidden secrets and man is initiating his self-assuring stage to explore the watery worlds of earth.
The points of view of people varies, chiefly, between two types of residents: on one hand, we have residents living near a sea or on an island; on the other hand, there are residents who have never lived by a sea, never experienced the aromatic atmosphere of being enveloped by its air. The two different lifestyles, considering the watery lands, form people's attitudes. People on islands, residents by the gigantic oceans, individuals accustomed to walking alongside the water for long periods, feel a sense of familiarity and fearlessness, and even courage. They've lived nearby the coast for enough period of time that it has become a daily ritual, such as the meeting of a regular friend; it has turned into more of a family member. Meanwhile, respectfulness and reverence towards the watery world still dominate. This world provides them various resources, represents them with multiple generosity, and symbolises a whole lot of things: it is a source of food, minerals, jewels, comfort, vacation, calmness, subtlety, serenity, humbleness, ... etc. And whether or not these elements are concrete, the sea still hovers over their lives. Contrary, people who have never been through such an experience, who live far away from any watery entity, who are significantly surrounded by land, are completely - mostly - ignorant of what seas and oceans represent to the planet earth. For them sea is a total mystery; they haven't experienced it as mush and as a result they lack essential palpable information about it.