Tag: ocean

“There is nothing more intimate in a life than
the secret under-territory where it anchors.”
~John Donohue

Even when I didn’t understand it, I’ve always known about secret still waters. When playing in the ocean as a kid, I would often go deep when a big wave was coming. If I went deep enough, I wouldn’t feel the intensity of the wave. 

Sometimes big waves scared me a little. When riding a bigger wave, I was visible. I got bounced around a bit and heard the crashing sounds. But going to the depths, I was alone. It was quiet. I wasn’t afraid.

One way to get past anxiety when “big waves” come is by learning to go deep. We picture the stillness of the deep water. We sink down and be still. Maybe we recognize that God is with us, or we meditate on the small present moment we find ourselves in.

We breathe in deeply and hold it for a moment. Then a slow exhale. This can be repeated for as long as it takes to find stillness, or for as long as we have time for. I read an article that encouraged practicing deep breathing every time we stop at a red light. Instead of being frustrated at having to stop, we can appreciate the built-in pause to give our hearts some rest.

When coming up after a big wave, there was always a big exhale. I would look around and see things were calmer. Lightheartedness would come back. Another big wave would likely come, but I figured out how to “survive.” Just keep going deep.