What do we think of when sand comes to mind?

Beaches, summer, fun, bathing suits. Ever think of how sand can be related to the way we see things? The Force and life in general? It can either be beautiful or ugly (labels I know, but bear with me), vast or minute, a hindrance or something to focus on, it is malleable and a tool of creativity; it can even be a nuisance.

When we think of the beauty and ugliness of sand, it can be pictured like a beautiful beach in Hawai'i with white (or black) sand of varying grains or it can be a beach that has been littered and dumped in that is in just plain disarray. This can reflect our reality in a sense or more to the point our personal outlook/perception on things. What do you see, or more to the point, where do you see yourself?

The vastness and minuteness can be looked at in the sense that sand can be as abundant as miles and miles of beach or desert, or, it can be as minute as the size of a sandbox or a single grain even. It's no longer a point of what we see now, but how we move around in it. Where we place our limitations and our boundaries. Do we confine ourselves to one area never to move on, or do we move around and explore what we see and feel in the world around us? Do we remain safe within our comfort zone, or do we push ourselves out and go beyond it?

Hindrance. Ever trudge through a beach where the sand felt like fine powder? It gets pretty tiring after a while (especially if you are out of shape like me). It hinders you in the sense that even though you have a goal in mind, a place where you want to go, it's holding you back or impeding you if only just a bit. That's similar to our own psyche in the respect that only we hold ourselves back. Sometimes focus is what we need. In order to overcome the current problem you must focus on it and come up with a solution. Maybe you are stomping when gliding would be a better way to go? It's just like trying to move against the flow of a problem when you should be moving with it, in order to better deal with it.

Malleability. What happens when you put your foot in the sand? It surrounds your foot, gets in between your toes and moves with you in a sense. You can take it a step further if you add water to it. Once the water mixes with the sand something "new" is created and you can shape it into whatever you want. The water is your aid (imagination?) in molding the sand (outlook or dare I say reality?). Or maybe, it is just another way of becoming who you want to be or finding yourself.

Now we come to the nuisance part. Sand is always somewhere on you whilst you frolic about in it. Either it is sticking to your body or in your shoes, it's just annoying! However, one way to look at it is the sand clinging to you or that is in your shoes are the parts of us we do not accept, yet will not go away until we actually look at them and deal with them. We must come to understand them and why they are a part of us. Even though we can wipe the sand off, where does it end up falling? Right back onto the beach and right back into being a part of your boundaries and hindrances. Some would surely find this a nuisance in my opinion. But that's just me, everyone is different.

There is also bad sand. The type of sand that sticks to us when we walk around the beach. The type of sand that sticks to us when we're coming back to shore from taking a dip in the ocean. The type of sand that no matter what you do, it will be on you somewhere. Sticking to you. Clinging to your skin. Making you feel uncomfortable due to its dryness or its rough feel. This type of sand represents our fears. We all have fears in one form or another at any given time. They are always with us and they are not always easily dealt with. We can try and run from the fear, or wipe the sand off. But it will either reappear in the same place or show up somewhere else. It will haunt you. It will taunt you with its presence.

But we must endure it. We must live with it. We must accept it in the end. We must realize that fear/bad sand is not easily shed. But, it is how we deal with it, how we accept that truth that makes us keep going and fuels us to move onward. Surely, you can go home at the end of the day and shower. Thinking you've dealt with it and now it is over, but then a day, maybe two, maybe even a week later, you find sand particles on your person. It's a never-ending battle; the skirmishes are different, but your enemy is always the same.