I was recently lucky enough to spend a week by the ocean! Yes. I know. It feels a bit surreal now…like maybe it was all a warm, sunny dream, because as I look out my window, all I see is wet snow mixed with rain, deep slushy puddles and grey, dreary skies…and they say it’s the first day of spring! Ha! LOL
Our sunny getaway was relaxing and rejuvenating. We spent time with family, played cards (I won…just saying), watched the sun set, visited friends, and found ourselves drawn to spend hours by the ocean – reading, napping, cooling off in the salty water and running along its sandy shores.
When I run, I often take it as an opportunity to listen to music or to a podcast. It helps me find rhythm, keeps me distracted (on longer runs!), or gives me something interesting to think about – a mindful practise while I discipline my body through movement….I don’t know…sounded more profound before I wrote it down. LOL
Anyway, while preparing for a beach run, I was scrolling through podcasts and found one entitled “waves,” and thought…well yes, I think that’s appropriate for today.
Now before I get too much more into this, I should remind you that I grew up in an area of the world with basically no waves. I mean, we had some small rivers, a few man-made ponds and lakes…oh and on occasion I would visit one of the Great Lakes, but the truth of it was, I grew up landlocked…so I know almost nothing about waves.
OK…so…here are some fun facts about waves I learned from the podcast:
A wave is an orbital pattern of energy moving through water.
The water goes up and down and in and out slightly, but mostly the water stays where it is. It’s the energy, it’s the wave itself making its way through the water.
As a wave moves closer to shore, the bottom of the circle starts to engage with the ocean floor – sand, reef, rock etc.
Coming in contact with the ocean floor causes the bottom of the circle to slow down, while the top of the wave starts going faster and faster.
This compresses everything into a smaller volume, a much more elliptical shape, creating a taller wave. That’s why, when you’re watching the ocean and the wave is coming in toward shore, you start to see it stand up more and more and more…
…until it can’t sustain the height and it essentially falls, or crashes over.
SO! The shape and form of whatever the bottom of the circle hits under the water, characterizes what you see above the water!
Here I was, running along the beach; the ocean to my left, sand to the right…podcast in one ear, the sound of waves crashing in the other, and I couldn’t help but think of my life (or our lives) as a wave…stay with me here…
Just like with a wave, there are things going on in our lives beneath the surface, affecting what is seen on the outside, or from a distance.
It becomes necessary, in fact unavoidable, to react, change, and adjust, affecting how we are seen and perceived by the world around us…or perhaps more importantly (as this is happening to all of us) how we also “see” and perceive others.
Now…what I also learned from this podcast, is that people who spend a lot of time out on the open water, especially people who surf, develop a keen eye for all sorts of different types of waves. AND they gain an understanding, can even predict what type of ocean floor is present to create the structure of water seen above the surface – brilliant!!
They know with certainty, that the part they see, the part they want to interact with (i.e. surf!) is determined by the architecture of what’s going on below. They use this knowledge to effectively relate to and participate with the wave.
Can you tell where I’m going with this??
It’s something I’ve been learning about myself and trying to offer others.
Grace.
Knowing there are things just beneath the surface…or perhaps at depths still yet unknown…things that change and affect what happens on the outside, is helping me to…
- Learn to love and accept my ocean floor, knowing it’s unique and beautiful in its own way, knowing there is still mystery to how it all works (I love that there is so much mystery to life!), and knowing I can learn to understand it, and perhaps predict how it will affect what’s portrayed on the surface…and even think about doing the work to creatively change its contours if necessary.
- Offer grace and understanding to those around me, knowing I can’t see what is built up, or wanting, affecting the outward expression of what I observe and interact with.
It’s another beautiful way we are all uniquely human. Another chance to understand how and why we interact with the world around us in such different ways – some healthy and some not so much.
So, on this dreary “spring” day, may you be warmed by the knowledge that you are beautifully and uniquely human. May you be encouraged by another opportunity to understand how and why we all interact with the world around us in such different ways. And may you be cheered on by the grace offered to you, by all of us, who know we have our own ocean floors to collide with.
Carrie
person with rheumatoid arthritis