Some of you will have seen Lissa Boles’ 30 Days, 30 Dares. I was thrilled when at the end of that event, Lissa invited readers to contribute their dares!
About a week before as I was reading some of my favourites, my mind wandered, and I wondered what I’d write if given the opportunity? Immediately, this story came up – I loved being able to share it there, and now here.
I dare you to walk toward all those scary waves you’re terrified will break over you, ball you up and throw you onto the beach! And if they’re going to break on you anyway, go deep! Do the counter-intuitive thing and dive under them. That’s where the water is most still, and you’ll come up on the other side of the turbulence.
As a girl growing up in Barbados, we’d often watch newbie tourists just dip in at the edge of the waves where they’d get their swimsuits filled with sand. The more adventurous ones would go in further and then either have to run for the shore, or, frozen in their fear, experience the disorientation of being caught up in the swirl of the surf as the waves broke over them.
From the time we were young, we were taught – always go out to meet the waves, and if they’re going to break on you anyway, go deep! Dive under them, into the stillness that is close to the sand.
This isn’t just good advice for swimming in the sea, I dare you to try this out in your own life! Practice doing it until it becomes as it did for us as children, a deep in your body knowing – an instinctive reaction when the waves of life threaten to, and sometimes do, break over you.
Walk towards them! Sometimes you’ll find yourself able to rise up with them and in that moment of exhilaration when you’re at the crest of the wave, be able to look back at the thing that was so scary that no longer has power over you.
Other times, when you’ve walked towards them and you’re still at risk of being caught up, that’s the moment to take a deep breath and go deep. As you dive right into the base of the wave, connect with those deep, still truths that like a sea anchor keep you safe in the midst of the storm. The wave will pass over you, and you’ll come out on the other side having experienced as little of the turbulence as possible.
And in those moments when life is SO wild you still get caught up in the waves and thrown onto the shore, take some time to sit on the beach, catching your breath and emptying out the excess sand in your swimsuit. But DON’T let the fear of those waves of life keep you stuck on the beach, paddling in the surf.
When you’ve caught your breath, I DARE YOU to go back into the sea of life – fully engaging, and walking towards everything that is there, remembering that you DO know what to do when the big waves come. Go towards them, and go deep!
I found the gorgeous photo above (shot by Mark Tipple) in this Daily Mail Online article.