I wasn't much of a big wave surfer in my time. What I did learn about being knocked ass-over-teakettle was calm. It can be frightening being beat down by a wave. After being churned, buffeted, even knocked into the sand or reef, I'd reach inside--wait, knowing eventually the wave would pass over. As long as I had air, I knew I could find the surface. Swimming and struggling could lead one deeper. Instead of fighting to surface in the storm, I waited for the storm to pass. Then, in a couple of strokes, I'd surface. Obviously, waiting for the calm always paid off.
The other oasis of calm comes from my short experience with rock climbing. I used to be unnaturally afraid of heights. It caused a lot of problems in my childhood, and actually to a lesser extent, the fear lasted into my 30s. Then, one day, it just seemed to disappear. To prove that heights didn't scare me anymore, I decided to go rock climbing in Yosemite. Rock climbing is an exercise in mindfulness. Every nerve, every sense concentrates on the next hand-hold or foot-hold. Then, despite all preconceptions of safety and security, a tiny crack, bulge, or indentation becomes a place to stand--safe harbor. Normal ideas of what is safe vanish. Safe is a place to stand, without fear and with a sense of calm.
Again, I had forgotten my ability to find these safe spots on my own.
I would like to add a note to a friend of mine about the story I wrote about ghosts. This person wrote me about the existence of ghostly scents of her loved ones. Currently I am reading A Vision by William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet. In this book about the occult, and Yeats writes about scented visitations as well.
Thanks to those of you readers who believe in me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.
It's Just the Motion by Richard Thompson (with Linda Thompson)
When you're rocked on the ocean, rocked up and down, don't worry
When you're spinning and turning round and around, don't worry
You're just feeling sea-sick, you're just feeling weak
Your mind is confused and you can't seem to speak
It's just the motion, it's just the motion
When the landlord is knocking and your job is losing, don't worry
And the baby needs rocking and your friends are confusing, don't worry
You're just feeling sea-sick, you're just feeling weak
Your mind is confused and you can't seem to speak
Oh, it's just the motion, it's just the motion
Blown by a hundred winds, knocked down a hundred times
Rescued and carried along. Beaten and half-dead and gone
And it's only the pain that's keeping you sane
And gives you a mind to travel on
Oh the motion won't leave you, won't let you remain, don't worry
It's a restless wind and a sleepless rain, don't worry
'Cause under the ocean at the bottom of the sea
You can't hear the storm, it's as peaceful as can be
It's just the motion, it's just the motion
Blown by a hundred winds, knocked down a hundred times
Rescued and carried along. Beaten and half-dead and gone
And it's only the pain that's keeping you sane
And gives you a mind to travel on
Oh the motion won't leave you, won't let you remain, don't worry
It's a restless wind and a sleepless rain, don't worry
'Cause under the ocean at the bottom of the sea
You can't hear the storm, it's as peaceful as can be
It's just the motion, it's just the motion
It's just the motion, it's just the motion
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Beautiful
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