A wave is to move freely and gently back and forth or up and down, a surging emotion, a movement sweeping large numbers in a common direction according to Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com. Urban Dictionary defines wave as being original, creative, authentic, paving the way for others and to do your own thing.
As I sit here on the last night of an amazing vacation in lovely Ocean City Maryland with our balcony doors open and the ocean waves crashing down with powerful force and beauty it seems like life experiences can come in waves.
Last week I did not write this blog. Writing this is something I truly enjoy. The waves of situations going on in my life pulled my feet out from under me giving me no energy. I could have tried to push through. In order to take care of me was to take a pause and be still was what I needed. I am sure everyone reading this is totally understands as they have had those experiences. Too often though we feel we need to push through, take care of others, and disregard what we need. When we need to be doing our own thing we are doing things for others.
So our life wave gets bigger and more forceful, pulls us under, throws us around, until we get to a shallow place in the water or run onto the beach to catch our breath. Eleanor Brown has a great quote that “rest and self-care is important. You can’t pour from an empty vessel. Take care of yourself first”.
Perhaps if we all became better at self care on a regular basis we would be better prepared, more rested, resilient for any wave coming our way. Think of it this way. It’s not always the wave that takes us out. If you are a surfer, experienced swimmer, parasailer you have been preparing and training for all sorts of waves. Surfers do bail off their surfboard to avoid a bad encounter. Bailing is totally an ok thing to do.
Each one of us is original, creative, authentic. Part of paving the way for others is demonstrating what some good old self care looks like. Standing on the beach for awhile, resting on the sand, absorbing the sun before jumping back on our surf board and heading back out to catch the waves is totally rad. It can make you a better surfer. It can also make you a happier, healthier human!
