#458 Those rare moments when you’re the only person on the beach

Neil Pasricha

Enjoy the silence.

Maybe you’re an early bird who goes jogging on the cool sand as the sun rises. Ocean waves quietly lap to shore together with twisted messes of dark seaweed and chipped seashells as faint orange sunbeams peek over the horizon…

Or maybe you’re a sand stroller going for a quick walk around the bend as your family takes a final dip before heading home. Your feet sink into the hot sand as you find yourself alone with wet tree branches, quiet circling gulls, and a bright pink sunset lighting up the sky…

Or maybe you just discover a quiet patch of secret sandy paradise where nobody can find you. It’s the hidden beach through the cottage forest, the rocky island where you rest your canoe, or the cliffside of a hilly highway where you pull over and hike down the empty shore…

Yes, those rare moments when you’re the only person on the beach make you feel like you’re standing alone in front of the universe. Stare up and let your mind drift into the distant neverending sky, fall deep into the thin horizon, and focus down at the tiny grains of sand millions of years old covering your feet …

Maybe stegosauruses and dodo birds and cavemen and cowboys all stood at this same spot staring out the same way at the same wavy water. And maybe future races will stand at these same places and feel the same spine-tingling sense of

AWESOME!

There will be a special announcement on 1000 Awesome Things this Friday.

— Email message —

“Hi! I stumbled upon your blog at time in my life where some awesomness was needed, bad. I was having a hard time finding reasons to get out of bed. Since then I’ve got a new job I really enjoy, the courage to try and realize my dreams and I feel a lot better in general. May seem stupid that reading a blog can help so much, but it gave me the kick I was needing. AWESOME!” – Therese from Norway

Photos from: here, here, and here

65 thoughts to “#458 Those rare moments when you’re the only person on the beach”

  1. Bwah. Curse my being in a landlocked state.

    Over Christmas break, though, my brothers and I were in Miami. We don’t get to hang out that much, being eight and ten years apart and leading different lives, but one night we just hung out on an empty beach at midnight after going around the town. It was a good night, definitely.

      1. Maybe you guys could, uh, you know… go to the beach… together?

        *scurries*

        *scurries back*

        Come on – give me a break.. it’s been a while! :)

        *scurries away for good this time*

  2. Possible Awesome Thing #457:
    When someone quotes one of your favorite songs (like you did with “Enjoy the Silence”).

  3. Early risin’ at the beach: best ever. I love the beach in the early a.m., and being the only one there is the amazing cherry on top! Definitely worth the lack of sleep. Besides … if you get too worn out, you can just spend the rest of your day participating in a “sinful day o’ naps” while everyone else is roasting on the packed beach.

  4. This is my kind of post! To be honest, I’ve only been to the beach once. Unfortunately I had no solitude, but as beautiful as it was, I can’t image how it would be by myself. Great post!

        1. Oh thanks so much guys! :)

          i really appreciate it :)

          Hope you all are having an awesome day :D

  7. Sadly….I have never been to the beach. :-(
    I had one opportunity when I was 10, but I didn’t want to go then. My daughter has gotten to go with her father.
    Yes, we do have plans to go in the future, but for the time being……. I have no idea what this feels like….but I bet it really is awesome.

    1. This makes me a little sad. The beach is such a beautiful place — it feeds my soul. I hope you are able to visit the ocean soon.

    2. Living on the coast and near some lakes, I can’t imagine not having the beach (though I’m more a mountain person). I’m excited for you for when you finally get to experience it. You can strive to become a sand snob and ponder the pros and cons of pine and fresh air versus the salty spray! You will love it, I promise.

  8. I love it!!! Stumbled upon your post –to be honest now I can’t remember quite how I found it but then I think that is another one of those awesome things—when you find an unexpected blog to read that starts your day off just right!!!! Right up there with the beach! Thanks for sharing!!! I have been blessed!!!

  9. A few years ago, I had gone to a beach and it was full moon that night. So it was only my family with the waves crashing on the beach, no noise around and it was one of the most awesome experiences ever!

  11. This is one of my favorite awesome things. I’ve found myself alone on the beach early in the morning or late at night. It’s so incredibly peaceful being alone on the beach, with nothing but the sound and smell of the ocean to keep you company. Awesome.
    –Eric

  12. Your post reminded me of an awesome family memory at the beach.

    One was when I went on a early-morning stroll on the beach with my dad. We were shell collecting, a thing we normally do at the beach whenever we go, and came across a large hole in the ground. It had a dark colored and at the bottom. Me, being the carefree child I was at the time, took a long jump into the hole. My shoes stuck to the sand, and one began to sink. I yelled out as my Croc started to sink, and jumped out of the hole with the assistance of my dad. We then went on a long, one-shoed walk (for me) to the nearby storefronts. I bought a pair of especially boyish sandals (a phase I was going through at the time) and we went on our way. Even though our shell-collecting journey was cut short, it formed a hilarious memory I will never forget.

  13. Just had to comment on this one. It’s one of my favourite feeling in the world, being alone on a beach. I remember one time me and my mother went camping near a beach even though it had been raining, and as a result hardly anyone was there, so in the morning we went out to the beach and as far as we could see it was completely empty.

    We walked along the entire length of the beach, her on the sand and me wading through the water. At one point near the end of the beach there was another person there. He was simply standing and watching the water, gazing out at everything. He didn’t even look when we walked by.

    A ways down the beach, where we could no longer see him, I decided to do the same for a while. It’s an absolutely magical feeling just watching the horizon, no sounds but the water at your feet. For some reason that day’s one I can never forget.

    This is definitely one of my favourite Awesome Things.

  14. If the special announcement is that there will be a 1000awesomethings.com movie, I hope you can get Seagal or Van Damme to play Freddo.

    2. Booo! I was hoping for Taylor Lautner.. but I guess I’ll take Steven Seagal..

      I remember I used to love all of his movies, particularly in the beginning when they all had to have only 3 words, and could be used to complete the sentence “Steven Seagal is…”

      Hard To Kill
      Marked For Death
      Out For Justice
      On Deadly Ground

      1. BAHAHA you wish jellyfish! Id never heard of Steven Seagal until now, but he looks familiar… and that statement about the sentence ‘Steven Seagal is…” is SO funny :D
        I wonder who would play me… The 14 year old late commenter because she is trying to catch up :)

  15. Actually, its quite easy to be the only person on the beach in parts of Taiwan (Not the southern tip), and the beaches are pretty good.
    The locals like to work too hard, and are pretty superstitious about swimming in water… so lucky for me!

  16. I’m learning to play hockey, and I recently had 30 minutes of a public skate with the ice to myself.

    It was one of the cooler experiences I’ve had in my life.

  17. I’ve gotten to experience this. Sadly, that was only for about 10 minutes before a giant rainstorm hit. So I guess everyone else knew better.

  18. So awesome! And really, you can attach this post to the concept of the sublime moment. Being alone in front of the expanse of water is definitely “sublime” in the classical sense. It’s a powerful experience that couples fear with wonder. We need to get ourselves and our children into situations where they can experience the sublime. Nice! http://livewithflair.blogspot.com/

  19. Living a few blocks from the beach my entire life, its crazy to imagine seeing it only once a year, or never at all.

    Sitting in my room and just looking out at the moonlit Pacific Ocean or watching the sunset is a magical (& awesome) experience I get every day.

    Yall are making me realize I take the ocean for granted.

  21. The victim was discovered on the beach under a pile of conchs, clams, oysters and mussels..

    You could say that he is…

    *puts on sunglasses*

    …a shell of the man he once was.

    YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

  22. absolutely the best thing ever! so AWESOME! Living at the beach you get this all the time but never take it for granted because it is the most wonderful feeling. will have to make a trip to my special quiet beach soon:) Hope everyone gets to experience this AWESOME time soon!

  25. I live in Texas and love the beach(:
    I also love standing ankle deep in the water, watching the oil and tar everywhere(:

  26. I went to the beach today because I read this yesterday. It is winter here and there was nobody on the beach, I had it all to myself :) It was… Awesome.

  28. I actually had the weird experienceS of being the only person in the cinema! It was awesome!! Having the theatre to myself with my popcorn and pepsi, and making my odd mobile calls to my family, was precious for me, like my own private screening! The movie was ok, Ashton K made it funny!

    1. Okay, that sounds completely and utterly AWESOME. I would love that!!!!!!! Unless it was a scary movie, though. I can just imagine that empty room with just me and a hugee screen. Heaven. :D

  29. Yes – this would have to be my favourite awesome thing. I am lucky to live near the beach and I am often the only person walking. Mine are the only footprints on the beach – pure bliss.

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  32. Awww, this has never happened to me! Probably because I can’t drive, but also there are always people on the beach where I live. Even in Winter when we’re just going down to relax or watch the sunset. Can’t wait til January so we can go to the beach again! Been such a long time since I’ve worn my bathers…

  34. Ahhh yes…I remember those lovely mornings sipping my coffee alone on the beach. Was that heaven? It felt like my heaven.

  36. Never have been at the beach just by myself….but have been to the beach with my boyfriend several times and it was just the 2 of us……

    I live about 8 miles from the beach and we try to go there every Saturday night as part of our date….

  37. i live on the beach and i have insomnia, so when i haven’t fallen asleep all night and the sun is coming up, i just go sit on the beach or go surfing. its beautiful when no one is there, but its even better when theres one lone surfer and you just have an instant connection.

  38. Watching the sun come up over Hat Head beach, NSW Australia.
    Dolphins in the water and perfect surf, 16 kilometres (10 miles) of sand to myself. I owned the world at that moment!. Do yourselves a favour, come on over & be amazed

  39. Ah, 3:30am on Lake Ontario in my town. No one is around, not a car in sight; all you can hear is the rush of waves and the rare awake bird.
    I like to write messages in the sand for the next person to find. :)

  41. I recall, when really small, walking at the break of dawn; far-far out of reach were the waves and the shore line; on tippy-toes I was while dodging all the little air holes…teeny tiny crabs, star fish and sand dollars…I could hear their breath of life in the silence of the sands and I can smell the sea salt now.

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  45. I think being on the beach by your self that would be nice.
    But I don’t think that will ever happen :(

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