Lately, I have spent a lot of time at the beach. I like to think of the sun and the ocean as my saving grace. Some of the best moments here on Maui have been when I look at the waves, play in the waves, and listen to the waves. There is something so calming and soothing about being on the edge of earth and so close to water. It's hard to imagine what life would be like without this liquid force that does so much to help keep us alive and well.
Yesterday, I went into a store that had a small wooden sign that read, Ride the Wave. I thought about how common it might be for people here to use this phrase. Ride the Wave can mean so many different things. First there is the obvious, a surfer rides the wave with the surf board. After that the meanings that come to mind have much to do with my analytical counselor brain.
When I talk with my clients about meditation and how to do it, I ask them to imagine that sitting in meditation is like being one with the ocean. The intial deep breathing can create an oceanic sound that can continue even when the breath becomes more natural and less forced. I explain that their thoughts are like waves that come and go, come and go. The idea is to simply sit still, in silence and give space to their thoughts as they observe them coming and going. I tell them that there is no need to ride any of the waves (the thoughts), there is no need to attach to any one thought. As the observer who is watching the waves, the mind's eye is not particularly focused solely on the waves, but instead is focused on the inhalation and exhalation of the breath or on a chosen mantra.
Another way that I perceive Ride the Wave is in relation to the ebb and flow of life. Good things happen and then not such good things happen. We feel happy and then we feel sad. We feel hopeful and then something happens that triggers us to move in and out of feeling hopeless. We feel confident and then we feel insecure. We feel successful and then we feel defeated. These changes are the waves of life that teach us more about who we are and our ability to sink or swim.
The beauty of the ocean is that it is vast, open, pure, and to us can sometimes seem infinite. The beauty of life is that it allows for us to create that same kind of ocean beauty. The trick is becoming more aware so that we are able to see it that way and to live it that way. All of us have the ability to be expansive, open, pure (uncontaminated or untainted), and never-ending. The waves of life continually open up possibilities for us to discover our passions, to create, to leave a mark when are no longer here, to learn ourselves, to define ourselves, to love ourselves, and to truly feel alive.