Waves & Self-Awareness
Have you ever watched a group of surfers in a lineup? At times they will all simultaneously start paddling, often into deeper water. Why? Good surfers always watching the horizon. Watching for little bumps that could be indicative of a large set of waves moving through. They see and adjust to these bumps at the earliest possible moment to either move safely out of the crashing danger zone, or to position themselves to ride the wave.
Watching a massive wave roll in can be terrifying, but at least you are watching. You have the time to react - to ride it, avoid it, or when all else fails, to hold your breath and dive under. If you aren’t paying attention, you’ll never be in a position to catch the wave, and worse yet it might crash on you without giving you a chance to catch your breath.
This is why we must reflect and develop self-awareness. Why we honor ourselves and our intuition to start paddling. The waves of life will never stop rolling. If we do the work to be in constant service to our self-betterment, we are building a buoyant board that helps us ride most waves. We keep our eyes on the horizon so that when an unavoidable wave rolls through, we are ready. Our breath is held, and we’ve braced for the crash.
The alternative is to tread water. Constantly flailing, barely staying afloat. Eyes down, spinning in circles. You didn’t see the waves coming, and when they crash, there’s nothing floating to grab hold of to bring you back to the surface.
In surfing, the time between two successive waves is called the “period”. Generally, a longer period is indicative of better surfing conditions as the waves are likely larger and holding better shape. A short period often indicates small, choppy, unfavorable waves that are generated by wind.
In life, we can measure the period between our ups and downs, and adjust our thoughts and actions accordingly. Are you experiencing a long period of calm or positivity? Maybe it is time to bring your eyes to the horizon and start watching for blips. Quickly react, and stay ahead of the wave. Maybe nothing is going right, one thing after another is keeping you down. Maybe you need to paddle out further, or just pack up and head home for the day.
When we can find this in ourselves, we are better prepared to handle life’s inevitable challenges. Keep your eyes up, keep paddling, and get ready to ride the wave.
