Undertows....now called rip currents are horizontal currents in shallow ocean waters, near beaches. They do not pull people under water, they pull people away from shore. If we get caught in an undertow, and we feel ourselves pulled away from shore, we can extricate ourselves by swimming at a right angle to the current. We can notice the direction of the current and adjust the direction of our movment. We can swim parallel to shore. If we panic or try to swim against the current? The danger is great. We might panic, deplete our energy...we might drown. The ocean that is my mind contains waves and currents of thought and emotions. There are tidal pools and tsunami waves, salty brine and swirling eddies. And there are mighty, fierce rip currents. Sometimes my thoughts and feelings are hijacked by the undertow and I am pulled away from shore, from the safe harbor of a calm, clear mind. How often do I react with tension and anxiety (even panic) to the rip current of thought and emotion? How often do I fight against and try to control the current of runaway thought and emotion? How often do I forget to gently shift my attention...to swim at a right angle to the current, knowing that the shore is by my side...knowing that I will eventually arrive back on the beach. Perhaps Ill end up some distance from my starting point, but I will arrive safe and sound. How can we work with mental and emotional rip currents? Breathe. Relax. Feel. Watch thoughts and feelings as they arise and fall away Allow the moment to pass. Pay kind attention to strong feelings as they rise and fall like waves. Notice and name feelings and thoughts as they arise and let them pass. These are the ways we can extricate ourselves from the relentless tug of the rip currents, the undertow that is often present in our minds and hearts. Our Monday morning tea tag is a reminder of the strength and courage that is present when we awaken to the rip currents that arise in our daily lives. Yes. We can swim through every tide and every change of time. Show up. Be Present. Let go. Repeat.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:38:20 +0000