The wisdom of waves

I was standing on the edge of the break on the beach one morning. Letting the very ends of the waves catch my toes every once in a while. I stood there for 30 minutes, observing and learning from the waves. What I noticed is that the biggest waves, the ones that look the scariest, were rarely the ones that made it to my feet. The most intense looking waves usually didn’t quite make it to my feet. It was usually the unassuming waves that traveled just far enough to wash over my feet that morning.

See, those big waves, as much power as they have, also have a strong undercurrent pulling them back. They crash violently and appear so strong and scary, but their power is matched by the current that pulls them back to where they come from. Sometimes we only focus on the power of the wave coming towards us and forget there is an nearly equal power pulling it back to towards the water. This under appreciated part of the wave always exists, it’s simple physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Still, every time I saw a big wave coming towards me, I felt a little fear rise up in me. I had a moment of thinking that I needed to back up to be safe. But if I held my position, inevitably, I was met with the gentlest of water washing over my feet.

Oddly enough, the calmest part of the water is usually the last bit of the wave. When it has expended so much energy to crash over into white water, there is a balancing of the push and pull that softens the water at the end. For a moment at the end of each wave, the water is calm and clear. This is what met my feet this morning.

It made me realize two things. First, perspective is everything and secondly, where you plant your feet matters. When I set my line of vision where the waves looked ominous, I constantly had a bit of fear in my heart. When I trained my eyes lower, nearer my feet, I only saw the aftermath of the wave, the calm and clear part I was speaking of earlier. No fear came when witnessing this part of the wave. It was always the same wave, I just held my attention at different points. And that little shift, made a big shift in how safe I felt.

Also, knowing where to stand made a big impact in what I experienced. If I were a few feet closer to the water, I would have felt so much more intensity with every wave. I would have missed the gentle end of the wave every time. All I would see from that viewpoint is the terrifying power of the water. Stepping back a few feet allowed me to shift my perspective with so much ease. It took effort to find the sweet spot in the break but once I did, it was much easier to settle into the rhythm.

What I sense so often in our world is that people are maintaining a challenging perspective and standing too far into the waves. Everything in their view is a scary and intense wave. Moment after moment, the white water is rushing towards them. It is exhausting and overwhelming to constantly see this part of the wave. It is as if we are all standing a bit too deep in the break and we are too unsure about stepping backwards.

But all it takes is a few steps back. And once this happens, a softer perspective is so much easier to find. With those small steps back, we can see that the waves are not trying to overwhelm and attack us. The wave is perfectly balanced with the undercurrent. If we let it fully play out, the balance will protect us from the intensity we observe. Our feet might get a little wet but no harm will be done.

All we will experience is the calm part of the wave. Yes, the waves will always come. Some will look scary and incite fear in our hearts. Taking a few steps back and shifting our perspective may be all it takes to loosen the grip of fear around our hearts. Such simple steps but sometimes it feels paralyzing to be in the break so deep.