By Megan Saunders
The shade from the palm trees darkened the sand as I took off my shoes and tip-toed to the water’s edge. Stepping forward, I flinched as my feet entered the cool water, splashing to my knees and soaking the bottom of my rolled up pants. We were grateful to be stretching our legs after a long bus ride, arriving at one of nature’s beautiful playgrounds.
The music of the waves crashing kept repeating itself as I looked beyond the white caps to the horizon. I glanced around observing pure happiness, watching others step into the water with immense joy like we were discovering the ocean for the first time. Our cameras were capturing laughter, excitement, and literal leaps into the air. As the sun shone down, the salty wind blew our hair out of our faces so we could feel the warmth on our cheeks, and the water sparkled like it was a valley of diamonds.
It almost felt wrong to be in such high spirits in Cape Coast, Ghana, only 15 km away from Cape Coast Castle with the history of its dungeons and darkness being a site of pain and horrific injustice. Looking out into the distance, the vast, expansive ocean appeared to go on forever without boundaries. The ocean, a strong force with its mighty swells, is seemingly free to move in any direction it wants. It guides life and ships, and its beauty persists through every type of weather. Its water remains on Earth forever and never disappears, sometimes evaporating into the sky and returning to us as rain, but it’s always around us, always there.
In Ghana we were often asked to think of our ancestors, summon them to experience moments with us, and write letters to them. Science tells us that matter and energy are conserved, and that nothing that once was, can ever be lost. The legacy of our ancestors made me think of them like the strong oceans. If they are no longer here on Earth, like water in the ocean evaporating to the sky, maybe they are found in the clouds and heavens, watching over their kin. I thought of the ancestors of so many who were enslaved, fighting for their lives in the dungeons, suffering from the horrendous actions of others. They persevered mentally and physically, and their tenacity and strength had no boundaries. They carried hope, a beacon of light within them, that shined like the sparkling diamond waters in front of us.
The ocean, for me, represents an unparalleled force, a sign of infinite perseverance. A beautiful reminder of hope, resilience, light, and strength. Thinking of our ancestors is not always an easy task. It can stir up anger, sadness, joy, disgust, appreciation, or gratitude. We all have different memories of our ancestors, some of whom we may have met and others we never did. Reflecting on our ancestors helps us learn from the past and learn about who we are. I hope to believe they are like the ocean, steering us in the right direction, providing us strength, and acting as a light shining within us; the guiding light we must follow towards a life of action, peace, and justice.