A pretty blank slate.

What is it about water, by itself, that can draw people just to look at it? It's obvious why human geography has largely organized along the coast lines and major water courses of the world, and it's beyond obvious why it's so precious to us as living bodies. But why are we drawn to it as a place to stare off into? Perhaps a more interesting question: when there's a crowd of people staring off at the horizon from an overlook built expressly for the purpose of staring out over an empty sea, what is going on inside each person's mind?

If one lets it, it can be restoring to watch the open water for a long time, just as it can to watch a fireplace. It's refreshing whether you catch up with and order all the jumbled thoughts that pile up in our heads, or whether you go someplace new in your head. I guess I wonder if this is what people are mostly doing, and if so, whether they are aware of it.