The world of nature is calm and slow moving compared to the world of human mind and human actions. My mind can cycle chaotically and violently for years, overturning personal and social universes, while the sea continues to shine placidly. I am astonished that I can return to the same rock that I sat on three years ago, to overlook the sea, the cliffs, the surf foaming below, and think of all that I have been thinking for all those years — all of the confusion and worry — and still the sea, the sky, the surf remain as I left them.
- Joan McIntyre, The Delicate Art of Whale Watching