Siesta Key Beach, Two Women
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
— Confucius
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The hour before sunset is an idyllic time of day on the beach. The light suffusing the beach is soft and gentle. Time seems to slow. The scene is like something out of a movie. And best of all, parking is usually available.
The first thing that catches my eye in this picture are the smiles of these two women. These are not traditional forced selfie smiles but seem rather more relaxed and genuine. The women are standing close together surrounded by the pink of the sunset.
It occurs to me that there is something strange here. Though their bodies literally touch, these two women could not be more differently attired. They differ in the amount of skin showing, hair length, jewelry, dress, footwear. I conclude that the woman in pink, so modestly dressed, is probably a member of the Mennonite community. The other is clearly not. Are these two acquaintances, friends or even relatives, I wonder. Not impossible since occasionally a Mennonite will leave to seek freedom from traditional religious restraints then return to visit kin.
The word cleave is the ultimate contranym – a word that is its own opposite. On the one hand, the two women seem tightly bonded or cleaved together. On the other, my musings have me thinking that the one was cleaved or split off, from her community only to return for a visit.
The question arises, who is freer, the one who is free from the fashion of the day, or the one who has total freedom of self-expression but needs to decide what to wear every time she dresses? One who is imbedded in a supportive community or one who finds her own way in the world. Freedom is relative; it depends how you define it.
I have a relative who is an outstanding photographer. He thinks these ruminations are madness since “a picture is just a picture.” He is correct in the sense that ultimately the quality of image is all that matters. Still, I never want to free myself from thinking.