What the Sea Taught Me About Belonging

I recently walked by the sea with my Hasselblad 500 C/M , the kind that forces you to slow down and pay attention. That is one of the things I love about film photography. Every frame matters. Every shot makes you ask a simple question: is this moment worth keeping?

The sea was grey and restless, and the air was cold. Back in Dublin, Christmas lights had already started to appear, bringing warmth to the streets. But by the water, there was only wind, salt, and the constant sound of waves.

Moments like that create space for difficult questions. Am I on the right path? Do I really belong anywhere? What am I moving toward?

Solitude can feel very different depending on the day. Sometimes it brings peace. Other times, it makes you feel like you are standing just outside your own life, watching from a distance.

Carl Jung wrote that the parts of ourselves we ignore eventually force us into solitude so we can listen. In a similar way, Islamic thought often sees emptiness not as something negative, but as a space where the heart can remember its direction.

Standing there, I realized that not belonging is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it means you are not trapped. The sea does not try to be still. The wind does not ask permission to move.

Maybe purpose is not something we find once and keep forever. Maybe it is something we return to again and again, one moment at a time, like exposing film to light.

Some days, that is enough.