My father, of blessed memory, taught each of his six kids how to swim in the ocean at the Jersey shore. He taught us that the waves came in cycles, how to recognize and survive an undertow, how to swim beyond the breakers and how to body surf – my favorite shore activity, other than going to the boardwalk at Seaside Heights.
Body surfing can be a little tricky in that you have to stand right where the waves rise up and start to break. Standing at this point you had to wait for the “big one” which, if timed correctly, you could surf back to the beach until it dropped you high and dry onto the sand when the water receded back to the ocean.
The issue was that while you are waiting for the big one, you also get battered by the other “rejected” waves. So my father taught me to go deep, to duck under the water, or dive into the oncoming wall of water before it breaks to avoid getting hammered by wave after wave – which is tiring and no fun if one hits you on the back of the head. You can tumble like a sock in a washing machine if you aren’t careful. I’ve eaten my share of sand back in the day.
So, likewise when you are hit with wave after wave of bad news either from within your family, or your business or from the 24/7 world-wide news cycle (which you should limit by the way because it’s always bad news) you need to learn to go deep and allow the tumult to pass by you.
Keep in mind, Satan is real and is always taking the ocean of issues you face to distract you and discourage you to give up the spiritual fight.
I’m not saying to avoid or escape the issues of your life, but you do need a place of refuge and rest, to gain some calm in order to view life from a better place. In fact, when you go deep in the ocean you can see the wave activity passing overhead and despite being in a very large ocean, there is an element of control of the situation which then brings calm. There were times when I dove down and dug my fingers into the sand to anchor myself when some very huge and very pushy waves came by.
You must create your own deep space so you can regroup, to regain calm. It could be a physical place or within your heart. You define what you do when you arrive there and how long you need to stay there.
Borrowing from Saint JoseMaria Escriva’s plan of life these are some daily habits that help you grow closer to God – perhaps it’s saying a decade of the Rosary or a full Rosary, a prayer of gratitude for the good gifts God has given you, or a prayer for those less fortunate or the daily readings or perhaps it’s an examen at the end of the day. If you need a physical refuge, find a Eucharistic adoration chapel and stop in and say hello to Christ there.
When you need rest, to regain some calm. Go deep.
