buffet.

You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in one drop.

rumi

When I co-taught a class (it was named School Success and included social-emotional skill building) to high school students @ 2014 – 2016, I showed the movie Soul Surfer. The school year was broken into trimesters, so I watched the movie a number of times. 

Soul Surfer was a movie based on a memoir written by Bethany Hamilton about losing her arm to a shark bite and her return to surfing. 

There is one scene that has continued to stay in my mind even though it has been years since I have seen the movie. The scene is at the end during a surf competition. The surfers are all on their boards and the surface of the ocean appears mostly still. The film captures Bethany looking back at the water and sensing the wave. Again, Bethany does not see the wave or a hint of a wave, she senses it and begins to paddle toward it.

When it comes to energy in motion, or emotion, I imagine waves of energy that are around us all the time, just like ocean energy. I can’t break it down like a scientist could, but I can break down a curiosity about waves: frequency (how often), duration (how long), and intensity (how hard). I can also connect other descriptive language: currents, momentum, ebb and flow, crest, timing, crash, etc.

Can you imagine the view from above an ocean? Can you imagine the many different currents flowing in many different directions? I imagine one’s interactions with others to be like that. One connection could be the saying, ‘we are on the same wavelength’, or ‘we are not on the same wavelength.’ In the case of Bethany ‘sensing’ the wave, could it be she sensed the vibrations that came before anything could be seen in physical form. ‘Good vibes.’ ‘I felt the vibe.’ etc. 

The shark attack might have been an example of an unplanned situation, circumstance, or event. The shark attack happened.

I imagine nonphysical (invisible) energy that moves into our experience from what one would consider ‘above’ – energy moving down into our field through the crown of the head. The physical energy I imagine moving up through the body from the root, or ground. The two energies (physical and nonphysical: right and left brain, masculine and feminine) intertwine in the space of the heart, and that combined energy is what radiates outward to create the electromagnetic field that can be measured (see Heartmath image). 

When I was teaching the course, I was reading and watching a lot of content to have something interesting and engaging for the students. At the time, I stumbled onto the Heartmath Institute and learned about the radiating field of energy that was most powerful coming from the organ of the heart. 

What if one’s energetic field interacting with other’s energetic fields is similar to the energy patterns that can be seen or imagined on the surface of the ocean.

Here is an image from 2009.

I like to connect information to make meaning that contributes to Something More. I find it interesting. 

Let’s make one last connection before I go enjoy this beautiful sunny morning in Denver.

This is not my analogy, but it is an analogy that resonates with me. Consider a global environment. Many cultures, varying histories, religions, human experiences. Now consider that view from above the ocean – all the many currents flowing in different directions especially the closer the water is to the shore. Perhaps the shore symbolizes the nonphysical energy transforming into physical form – what can be observed and measured. All these varied energetic fields, all resonating with human life in some expression. Now imagine the most massive buffet of what appears to be unlimited amounts of food in many different varieties. Some foods have never been brought to your awareness – so many ingredients, flavors, combinations, pairings. All resonating with human life in some expression. All okay. What if one preference spent all its time promoting their food. What if a life was spent arguing about why their preference was the only preference, or the best preference. What if life energy was spent trying to promote and protect one’s preference, rather than enjoying the preference while allowing the other preferences. Not having to understand the other preferences, but knowing they existed and it was okay. Perhaps even being open to experiencing different tastes that are unfamiliar, knowing that the original preference remains. The preference cannot be stolen, but it can be shared. It can also be enhanced and made better with a willingness to explore, along with exposure to ‘more’.

Maybe allowing, or being open to, many different preferences allows more waves to surface that are easier to catch and ride. Maybe being open to riding more waves, rather than being unexpectedly caught in an undertow, allows for more enjoyment and fulfillment that stays with us while we wait for the next wave to surface.