Waves

I’m fascinated by the concept of waves. I believe it is a beautiful metaphor to capture the essence of life.

We will always be in the water. When things are good, we float. The waves are light and seemingly pass right through us. However, in the blink of an eye, those gentle waters can get rough. You can be floating for years, and one wave comes along that is just too tall to drift over. That wave will crash over your head, and send you tumbling back to shore. But, even though you may get taken out time after time, the waters will calm again. You need to jump up, shake it off, and swim back out.

Last year, a family friend tragically took her own life. Although I did not know her well, I ached for her. I knew all too well the cycle that she was trapped in. She couldn't catch a break long enough to catch her breath, and get back to shore. She got caught in the waves, and kept on tumbling.

She gave up the fight, and they pulled her back home.

Within minutes of hearing the news, words poured out of me, 　　

“She was a beauty,
but she lived her life in the ocean.

The waves passed through her,
disabling her to see
the beauty lingering within her soul.

Multiple times she screamed in the face of the darkness,
"you can't win!"
And the waves pulled her under,
crashing over her head.

As they tried and tried,
she cried, and cried
because, no one could understand what it was like
to live in a cycle of waves merely half alive.

She had a laugh louder than life,
but when the waves emerged,
her strength didn't suffice.

The wave washed over her,
and she forgot how to swim.” 　　

If there is only one thing you need to know about life to be able to navigate the waters a little bit easier, I’d say it would be that life does not come with flotation devices. Overtime you begin to learn the time of the tides. They will crash. They will take you out. You will be sent back to shore, but you will get up again. When you see the wave come in, be prepared to duck under it, or get ready to ride it.

Rest in peace, angel. I hope you found the peace you were so desperately searching for.