Sea Glass…. Not just a piece of broken glass

Earlier this week, I opened with where I was from and who I was, but I realized I never really introduced myself.  My name is Salisha Tatton, creator behind East Coast Sea Gems.  By turning Genuine New Brunswick found Sea Glass into works of art, jewelry and home décor, I am sharing a passion I started after working on finding a balance between being chronically ill and wanting to be productive and feel useful.

I decided to start this blog to share with those who want to know about sea glass, where it’s from, what it is, why there is so much history behind it.  In sharing my love for sea glass, I can’t help but share about life on the East Coast of Canada; what it’s like to live in smaller Maritime communities; how the coastal life is one of love for the Ocean and respect for its enormous power.

I also wanted to share how life with chronic illness and loss, although very hard to accept life within it’s confines, has helped me to appreciate the joy in living again; to share ways I found to deal with deep depression, sadness and chronic pain.  To share with others that they aren’t alone, there are those who understand, who can empathize, listen and just be there.

Sea Glass is formed when glass finds its way into the ocean and bay currents. Anywhere salt water flows is a potential creator of Sea Glass. It goes into the ocean created as a man made vessel, used for one purpose, eventually being discarded when it’s purpose is done, for the ocean to tumble & recreate. 

Tossed around in the waves, broken, beaten by the currents, crashed against rocks, sand & coral, only after decades (possible centuries) of having the edges worn against the waves do these pieces of smooth, frosted gems of glass sparkle on the shorelines for sea glass hunters to find, cherish and re-purpose into a new life.

There are so many similarities between the story of sea glass and the story of Life.

We begin life by being created by a human. We grow, learn, & change as our environment does. We break down, re-create ourselves, our personality changes, we gain wisdom with each fractured story, we gain strength with each stumble, we gain independence as we tumble through the current, that, at times, seems to drag us through life, kicking and screaming. The original model we were born as no longer exists, the current of life has overhauled our view of the world. Every celebration creates growth, every tragedy creates transformation, every decision creates variations in the path of life. Not one experience is the same as another’s.

Such is the same with sea glass. Each piece is formed by tides that surround it. Pieces are broken down over time, but the edges soften, those that make it shore create joy, wonder, a quest for knowledge on the history and a thirst for wanting to discover.

In sea glass I see so much more than a piece of broken glass. It is a reminder that we all change over time, with each moment that passes, our rough edges are worn smooth, our looks change, our purpose changes.

Like sea glass, we transform and either wash up on the beach as a treasure or stay out at sea tumbling until we find the right current to travel.