Mind Like the Ocean

Have you ever tried to swim out into the ocean when multiple sets of large waves are breaking onto the beach one right after another? With each bit of progress, you make another wave breaks and pushes you back toward the beach. You can quickly become exhausted fighting all the waves. You might even tell yourself, “Wow, the ocean is really kicking my tail.”
 
But the waves are not the same thing as the ocean.

Caught up in the energy of the waves and our desire to go out for a swim, we can forget that the ocean is spacious and vast. It can be helpful to “duck under the waves: when they come. In this way, we can make progress on our swim without getting caught up in the sway of each individual wave. Never forget that, even during a hurricane, the ocean is miles out and miles deep. And underneath the power of what is happening on the surface, there can be stillness and calm.

So, when your own life seems to be filled with storm, when the big waves of thought are coming in one right after another, remember that you are the ocean and not the waves. Your awareness is spacious and vast – and under the surface you can find stillness.