Sand Sculptures Can Teach People a Great Life Lesson. Would You Notice?

Spring Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Nature Art”

Sand sculptures show life at speed.

The wave made my daughter and I shriek.

Our friend might not make it.

He didn’t have a face, which was awkward. And his dorsal fin had dire structural integrity problems.

But we weren’t giving up. I felt sure he’d reveal himself properly if we could beat the tide, so we dug faster.

Due to kids squabbling over buckets and spades, our sand sculpture was a hands-only project. Sand is soft under your feet but wretched under your nails, especially by the river where it’s coarse and full of bark. The one benefit of river sand is its stickier than white beach sand and holds edges.

I’ve made dozens of sand creatures with my family; turtles, fish, clams, and other sea dwellers. I like seeing them emerge. You can’t entirely control what pops out.

I also like watching people walk past them. The oldest and youngest among us typically notice and delight in sand creations. Then there’s the kid struck by an overwhelming urge to smash in the creature’s face. There’s always one.

Full-grown men and women with faraway eyes walk past, oblivious. Sometimes they notice at the last moment and do a wild sidestep like they’re avoiding a creature with heartbeat. They’ll look back, irritated, and glare at the sand as if it pushed in front of them, or they laugh in surprise.

That’s the danger zone; when we’re in life’s messy middle. Complexity peaks, and we get caught up. What’s directly around us can fade out.

Sand sculptures show us life at speed; how it begins and ends. We emerge, bask in the sun for a bit, and then get washed away. The process is glorious, swift, and indifferent; it just happens.

Sand sculptures also tell us to hurry and get on with it before the tide comes in.

It’s a strikingly profound message from a pile of sand.

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