Serenity Bay Beach at Castaway Cay
Let’s Go Back!
A look down the beach at Serenity Bay on Castaway Cay, the Disney Cruise Line’s Bahamas island, as seen during our 2018 Christmas Disney Cruise.
As you may know from earlier posts, Serenity Bay is for adults only, with “adults” being defined as those 18 years of age and older. And you also may remember that the main “adult” thing that happens there is that people just relax. Not much running around and screaming like at the Family Beach on Castaway Cay. Maybe some snoring, but not much screaming.
You can see here just how relaxing that can be. There is one person out in the water, and there are a few more walking along the beach way down there. But that’s about it.
I like to look back at photos like this to remember just how relaxing Castaway Cay is, and especially Serenity Bay. Relaxing on a beach sounds wonderful right about now. If I could jump in a photo and be there, this is definitely one I would choose!
Just Relax
Have you ever been in a stressful situation? One of those times when you feel like you are about to pull out all your hair and run around screaming? And then, right in the middle of all of that, someone comes up to you and says, “Just relax.”
Immediately after being told to relax, you feel better, right? What’s that? You don’t? Neither do I. Because no matter how hard we try, we can’t just relax on command. We can’t just turn off the things that are stressing us and just relax.
So many times when we are under stress, the last thing we want is someone coming in and telling us what to do, unless they really, really know what they are talking about. But just saying, “Just relax,” does not prove that you know what to do or what you are talking about. It just reminds me that I am not relaxed, which makes me even less relaxed, adding to the problem at hand.
So keeping that in mind, I try to remember not to tell someone to just relax. Find something else to say. Ask what I can do to help. Tell a funny story. Just be there with them. Anything but tell them to do what is pretty much impossible to do.
If you find yourself in a position to offer advice to someone under stress, make sure it is something worthwhile. Because I am pretty sure that they already know they need to just relax.
Bible Verse
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. - Proverbs 12:25
About the Photo
This photo was taken around the same time as the other photos in the post linked above, but for whatever reason, I decided not to include it in that post. That was just fine because I think this photos stands alone well by itself. While it is not the beach at Castaway Cay that most visitors see, it very much captures the spirit of the island for me.
I worked with the coloring a good bit here to get it all looking just right. And now that it is finished, I can’t imagine it looking any better. It perfectly captures the feelings that I felt while we were there. Which, after all, is one of the purposes of photography.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens and Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Lens
Date: December 18, 2018
Location: Castaway Cay, Bahamas
