I was visiting some friends at the beach a few weeks ago and although the temperature was rather chilly, there is nothing I love more than exploring the beach in the winter. One of the great pleasures of the Carolina coast is as the seasons change different things wash up on the shore and as I was walking on the beach looking for sharks’ teeth and shells, I came across a Lettered Olive, which is the South Carolina state shell, and it’s a real find if you can get one with a point still intact at the top. But as I looked at it closely, I noticed that it had some hanger-on’s i.e. other sea life that affixed itself to the shell and lived for a time on the outside of the Lettered Olive and got me thinking about people who seem to cling to those who are strong, self-assured and secure.
These other shells that hang on, in a sense, enjoy the shadow of greatness by living on the outside existence of another. What I find so odd is that you were made for greatness on your own, and those who are strong, for the most part, wish you would remove yourself and be the person we always hoped you would be. So, I have to ask, friend are you deriving your strength or better yet your identity from someone else? or are you able to stand alone? It’s an important question to ask as you take a long view of your life. If you are clinging to someone else for your security, or a sense of safety, or even self-esteem you probably want to rethink that and consider standing on your own. Why? because if that person leaves or changes or passes away then what will happen to you?
Many times, I see good people and they have, in a sense, glaumed on to somebody who they hoped would help them find the spotlight, only to be left behind when more people piled into the limousine. And then they are left broken, confused, and unsure. And none of that would have happened had they found their light and stood in it. It is easier to walk with good friends going in the right direction and I’m glad for that but if you’re hanging on because you think somebody’s star power will light your world… that is a terrible error in judgment. What I want for you is to learn to stand on your own two feet and not hang on to others. You should be the one that others look to for encouragement, strength, and kindness because that’s who you really are if you will strip away everything you have brought to you to bolster you in the eyes of others, instead of being who you are truly in your heart soul mind, and body
Seriously, think through this and reconsider your need to hang on to others. You should cling to the person you were meant to be and grow into your future for your amazing life.
Real quick about the Lettered Olive. South Carolina designated the lettered olive; the Latin name Oliva sayana as the official state shell in 1984. The Lettered Olive seashell was first found and later named by Dr. Edmund Ravenel of South Carolina. He first recognized the lettered olive back in 1834. Ravenel was a Charleston physician who was internationally renowned as a pioneer conchologist. (who knew there was such a word)
Lettered Olives are prolific around the South Carolina coast. I see them in other places, but you tend to find them here on our coastline and when you find one that’s completely intact it’s a real fine a lot like getting a sand dollar that’s just perfectly round. So, if you visit our great state and I hope you do, take a walk on our beaches and find yourself a Lettered Olive.
