So I was reading The Beach by Alex Garland, and although its not on the NY Times Bestseller list (despite turning into a Leonardo Dicaprio movie), there are actually some great themes.
The main draw came across to me in its last pages – the universal need for something different. I think everyone, everywhere, starts to feel the mundane in day to day life. Even when you shake things up and do out-of-the-norm activities, isn’t your overall satisfaction short lived? Now imagine not being in the world you’re in now. You are transported to a place with untouched sand, the most perfect climate imaginable, and no evidence of human life.
Sometimes the need for peace and quiet is vital to calming your senses, which have been pulled in so many different directions from everyday life.
The beach is my private sanctuary. Albeit public land and water, its really my own place to go when I need to. It’s always there and as I’ve always felt, it remains constant throughout. The tossing waves and the rhythmic crashing sound it makes on the shore is unmatched in its consistency and endlessness. That, paired with the birds racing along the horizon amidst a sunset of hazy and orange hues, creates an aura of sedation akin to a drug.
Another unrelenting theme in the novel that I find myself drawn to is spontaneity. The main character in the story ran away from the 9-5 and threw himself into Thailand. Here, he sucked the blood out of a live snake in response to a dare by strangers. He continued on his journey and ultimately discovered the Beach. It was a hidden paradise, accessible to only winners who overcame the fear and endurance of swimming miles to reach it.
I appreciate spontaneity. It’s like we just don’t do enough “unplanned” things.
Aren’t the most beautiful and exciting memories in your life based on moments you never expected to happen?
After a revelation like this hits you, you try and plan something equally exciting in the hopes of bringing back that adventure. We try to recreate the way we felt with a previous experience, yet always it turns out predictably. Yet another time its assumed you know exactly what will happen only to witness a stream of unpredictable events. These are the moments that are hilarious and exhilarating, awe inspiring and irreplaceable.
Jumping back to my thoughts on sitting on the sand at a beach, what a great spot it is for both zoning out and to regain clarity and focus. Not only is it free of cover charge, but it provides multiple services. Here, the fantasies for daydreamers abound while the deep grooves of sand are paradise for the active. Its a scenery for the aesthetically hungry and its free therapy for the ones that need it most: human beings.