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Waves of the sea, waves of life- lessons

Let's start by talking about waves of the sea. I have to confess; I am from the mountains. Not from the shore at all. So, sea, and its waves always fascinated me. Even as an adult, I become a kid in front of the sea.


waves of life

When I go to the beach it is always a novel experience. The Sea waves are making its song, ever so as it has been, till eternity. Often, I keep watching under a shade, just observing. It clears the mind, and thoughts often are washed away. An occasional boat, or a walker, makes it even interesting. Even if it is not, I really enjoy watching boring waves.


A walk on the beach- Poem from the book from the past to the future?


One day I had a walk on the beach,

With my daughter on my shoulders.

My feet dug deep into the sand as I walked.

On halfway I looked back.

Most of my footsteps washed away, 

No trace, fresh sand covered footsteps,

Waves crashed as ever.

Then I realized,

That I had no past, I had no future,

And I cannot harvest the power of now.

It is too fast!


Explanation

The book is concise; hence I have not given detailed explanation on what the poems in it means. That is what the blog is for. You may have read the book the "Power of now" by Echarte Tolle. He popularized the idea about insights gained when he noticed that he has only now to live. As past is already gone, the future not yet come, Now seems to be the only rational way to live. But in this poem and in the book, what is time, I would like to point out the fact that this is also an erroneous idea. As we cannot exactly define the now. You will find more details on this in the article "To catch the happiness before it hides."


Characteristics of waves

As we all know, waves are the ones which keep the beach alive and attractive, among many others. If you stay long enough on the beach, watching long enough you would see the patterns of waves. There are few facts about waves. Following are my observations. You may have different ones.

  1. After a while, waves lose their magic in them, I see they are monotonous.

  2. Some are small, some are rough and reach far inland, it's really unpredictable when it does.

  3. More the sea retracts, bigger the wave.

  4. Whatever the wave comes ashore, goes back to the sea.


How about waves of life? Can we apply what we have learned about sea waves to life? Let's try.

Waves can be compared with events, thoughts, happiness and sadness we feel.


Waves of the sea, waves of life- Lessons learnt.

Lesson 1 Dull waves

After a while everything lose their charm. (you cannot listen to the same song even if it is best in the world). You will lose interest on your own bright ideas, things will be monotonous and boring. How are you getting way from this?

Trust me I have experimented with this in the past. I have listened to the same song Just as an experiment. More insights from this experiment were written in this article, What I have I learnt by listening to the same song?


A boat drifted by the waves

Lesson 2 Buoyancy

Generally, things happen in our lives are predictable. There are little ups and downs. But occasionally drastic things happen like a big wave and surprise us. It washes us away and break the cycle of our lives. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe in years to come. But it will come.

Compare your life to a Buoy floating on the sea, there are ups and downs when there are waves pass beneath us. Can you stay sill on the sea surface? It will be really impossible. Even if you are on a huge cruise ship, there will be occasional shudders and shakes. That is part of the life.


Lesson 3 Tsunami waves -rebound phenomena

Have you watched the videos of tsunami? In 2004 Indian ocean tsunami, or 2011 Japan Tsunami, sea retracted hundreds of meters back from the beach before coming crashing back at the ground in enormous force and huge waves. Generally, bigger the retraction of the sea, bigger the waves which will follow. Although this is true for smaller waves, we do not notice it.

We see this phenomenon, even in our lives. If you bet higher, risk of losing is higher. If you jump higher the fall is also high. And if you are attached to something more, crave more, loss will be more painful. This doesn't mean we shouldn't try. But be prepared if you do.


Lesson 4 Tsunami of thoughts

I can see, the beaches battered from Tsunamis are back to normal. People lost lives and their property, but they are back at their homes. The sea, when I look at is like ever before. There is no sign of horror, instead calm and peace still prevail in abundance. Nature has healed the wounds and recovered. More importantly what about Tsunamis in your mind?


Even if there is a big wave, you lose money at a casino, or you fall down a slope, lose a loved one. This is not the end. The wave will go back to the sea. Where it came from, given enough time. And things will settle with a new balance. It is the rule of the nature.



A whale emerging above sea level

In summary:

Waves in life and thoughts in mind are generally monotonous, Ups and downs are inevitable. Occasionally there will be big Tsunamis, however they will also eventually flatten out and pattern will repeat up until end.


Let's be thankful to the sea teaching lessons of life, and happy wave watching.


Waves of life, Poem by Guest @wFozStories


It comes in waves

we tell our friends

who cry at graves.


As you start to feel better

out of the blue

eyes turn redder.


A song, a place,

a photo of a smiling face.


It’s not something to outsmart.


Just ride the waves.

It means love lives on

inside your heart.


waves seen from above ashore



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