Sea Glass Hunting

A prose poem — trash to treasure transformation

Intense sunlight makes the sun feel truly brighter in the winter. The sea is calm after the storm. Low tides. A perfect weather combination for treasure hunting. I walk along saltwater shores, easy pace, no rush, enjoying the view and all things blue, around and above me. I smile as I watch Boring’s little body running ahead of me, feeling playful in sand, rolling and digging, marking his kingdom everywhere.

“Most of the fun is in the hunt!”, I tell myself aloud, and as the sun is shining straight in my eyes, made me squint, scanning for any unusual colors or shapes of those shinny little treasures called “Sea Glass”. My treasures. My eyes are beaming with joy as I bring to mind the excitement I get when I spot one hiding among the beach pebbles, or when I try to save one where the gentle babble of calm waters are lapping onto the sandy parts of the beach.

I think of the times back then, when the sea seemed so huge to absorb anything without being affected, where old ships threw colors of glassware overboard, and past generations buried their trash in the sand.

Alcoholic beverage and soda carafes of amber and kelly-green color, liquor, and beer bottles of black glass, medicine jugs of cobalt and cornflower blue, artistic colorful inkwells, chemical containers of sea-foam white and brown, windows and windshields of clear glass color, decorative crystal dishes and other objects of teal and amethyst, and the “holy grail” of sea glasss, the color RED.

Broken pieces of history, sank to the depths of the ocean floor. Created by people then left to Nature to polish and prepare in an eco-friendly recycling, where Natural Tumbler took effect, relentless movement of the tides, waves, sand and rocks, smoothed their edges away, over and over again, leaving a frosty smooth patina on each of them. Hydration process. Tumbled over and over until genuine sea glass of unique color and shapes, smooth and colorful, were produced by Nature.

Man’s neglect was transformed by Earth into a thing of innate, captivating beauty, that takes from decades to centuries to evolve a usual glassware into a beautiful, “reverse” gemstone, made of Mermaid tears.

Trash to Treasure Transformation.

Where tides push along the remnants of ancient shipping lanes, pieces of history with a story to tell about origins and past usefulness are washed ashore, permanently beached.

Sea Glass is simply a broken glass no longer needed as it served its purpose, outlived its usefulness, and was tossed in the trash. But, Sea Glass is something greater than that.

It’s a symbol of hope, renewal and healing, a metaphor of life.

The world’s past and future come together in a rainbow of color and hope. The earth continues to heal itself, and may we all continue to do our part to help it do so.

…

Greece is washed to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the west by the Ionian and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. Athens Riviera, the Athenian coastline, is 40 miles long and if you know where to look for, — I do-, you’ll find some amazing sea glass, even the red ones.

Here on Santorini Island, it took me a while to discover the right spots. Twice a week, I go sea glass hunting but I haven’t found any red -except for a tiny one- or other rare and ultra-rare ones. Yet!

There are some serious sea glass collectors all around the world. I have a big collection already, and for now, I keep them stored in old jars and decorative vases. At some point, I’ll use them to create jewelry, art, sun catchers, and wind chimes.

Thank you for reading…