The Cure for Everything is Salt Water

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. – The Deluge at Norderney, Seven Gothic Tales, 1934

When I read this quote I thought how true this is, and it made me remember, when I was young the answer to all our ills was either, take an aspirin, sit in the sun or use salt water.

Whether there was a problem with a sore throat or a mouth ulcer, gargling or swishing your mouth with salt water seemed to do the trick. Likewise we often soaked our injuries such as sore foot or finger in salt water. Whether it was the soaking or merely the passing of time which cured it, who is to say.

Let's look at each of the three types of salt water and see how each is a cure.

Salt water through sweat. We all have heard that exercising is not only good for our bodies, but for our state of mind as well. The endorphins that are produced when we exercise, make us feel good mentally. It is this feeling that keeps people returning to the gym for this sense of euphoria or well being. It is also called 'The runner's high' and explains why people can sometimes get out of sorts or grumpy when they don't exercise.

This isn't the only way though, when you are working hard at something, maybe a project you have been putting off or something which has been mentally draining. This, although perhaps not responsible for physical sweat is the equivalent because of the mental strain. The action of getting stuck into your work and finishing it is a reward. It is the determination to get things completed that cures problems. All too often we procrastinate about something which needs doing, worrying about it, thinking about it, until the problem has grown. Through hard work, perspiration and determination, problems get solved, work gets completed and stress is lessened.

Sometimes there is nothing more cleansing than a good cry. Has this ever happened to you? When you are completely mentally and physically spent and all you can do is be hugged and cry a river. Often this is accompanied by someone patting you on the back saying, “that's it, let it all out”.

You may feel completely drained afterwards but the sense of relief when you are finished is apparent. All the problems that were piling on top of each other pressing and holding you down like a sack of lead on your shoulders seem less bothersome and more manageable after a good cry.

Hopefully the person who is there can help you through it without being judgmental of your actions. Hearing the words, “I told you so”, or ”I knew this would happen” at this time, is just rubbing salt into the wounds and making the situation worse. A compassionate hug and a good listener are two of the best qualities in a good friend.

There are of course tears of joy. These normally flow when you are at a graduation, wedding ceremony, or upon news of the birth of a child. The pride and admiration towards someone you have loved and nurtured and now they have succeeded in making that step into their new life. You are filled with a sense of confidence and a belief that life has blessed you. These tears have a way of washing over any disagreements which may have occurred in the past, clearing the way for a new start.

The final one is the sea. Have you ever sat on a beach or a cliff and just watched the sea or the ocean. It is almost a hypnotizing monotonous ebb and flow as the waves come to shore and return. The sea doesn't care about your problems, it comes in and flows out.

The sea is just there, this great massive body of water that does what it does. As you fret with your worries, still the water laps across your feet and returns., day in and day out. You are merely another grain of sand on which the water splashes, your problems are inconsequential to the greater world. The sea has the power to wash villages away and yet it gently rolls up the beach and back, lolling you into a hypnotic mental balance. If you allow yourself to relax, and listen to the sound of the sea, your problems fade away. As the motion of the wave lifts the water to the shore, allow it to take your problems and cast them into a wide open area, dispersing them until they are adrift.

Leave your problems at the beach.

Whether you Scuba dive, swim, fish, sail or simply sit on a beach. Nothing gives you a sense of calmness like water, it has the ability to wash away your worries.

Through these three cures most problems are resolved.

Financial change comes through hard work.

Emotional relief comes from tears

and

Peace from the sea.