A History of Kindness

By Kirstie McKinnon | Posted:

Ladybugs, Sharks and rescue ...

“Realities are wrapped in such a veil (as it were) that several philosophers of distinction have thought them altogether beyond comprehension …”

¬ Marcus Aurelius Meditations, book 5, no. 10.

Out on the bay my friend Sonia and I paddle. Me on a yellow stand up paddleboard, her in a white and green sea kayak. We’re swift, easy with the tide as we slip into the deeper water of the channel.

‘If it wasn’t so cold, we could be in the tropics,’ calls Sonia.

‘Yeah.’

I’m in a 4/3 wetsuit, the water’s a cool 14 degrees celsius. The estuary is aqua-blue glass. Sunlight ripples across the sandy bottom. It’s tempting to dive in despite the cold. My thoughts drift to the warm seas off the coast of northern Australia, and a strange story I read in an old newspaper:

Read On: Ladybugs, Sharks - by Kirstie McKinnon (substack.com)