Toward the end of our vacation, on the drive back, my wife said to me that I had been quiet. She was right. Usually that’s not a good thing. My mouth slows to a stroll when my mind is running, and my mind tends to run over the same worn out track. But this trip was different. Why, I don’t know. Throughout, I found myself simply being. My mind often wondered forward as it always does, but when that I happened I would pull myself back to where I was.
Now. Here. Just be. Nothing else.
My favorite part of going to San Diego is getting into the water. When I was stationed there several years ago, my wife and I were at the beach 3 to 4 times a week if we could be. I would bodyboard while my wife would enjoy the sun. Great times. There is something amazing about the ocean, both being next to it and among it. As it sometimes happens, the most obvious thing is that which is hidden right in front you.
I love being in the ocean waves because the ocean waves so closely resemble my mental state. When I am out there floating, my eyes to the horizon and the crashing waves pushing the sounds from the beach away from me, I am simply being. I’m there. I’m no where else. I’m at peace.
And the waves that come to greet me in my state resemble the world that is. Some pass by without fanfare, some come crashing down. Some offer a splendid ride and put a smile on your face. Some topple you upside down, and when they do, you simply turn and paddle out again and wait for the next set to come through. You want for the next chance to smile. And while I wait, I wait in peace.
There is no real point to this other than to say I found comfort in this realization. It was comforting to see life boiled down to such a basic property, in natural terms. Whether I’m wrong or right is irrelevant. It calms my heart and settles my mind.
Nothing else soothes me like the ocean does.
Shawn Saying Something... 