Story: The wave

In today's blog I share a short story I wrote that others have found to be insightful, and which strays beyond my normal offering - the essence of which aligns with everything I do.

Love was a wave and she was a very lonely wave. She had travelled the globe in search of something more than the life she had. Surely there must be more to life than rising and falling and being dictated to by the bright glowing circle in the sky. 

She’d tried to ask other waves if they felt the same as her but they never stayed around long enough to give her an answer. From watching them she thought they looked satisfied enough. The sounds they made when the wind whipped them against the cliffs in far flung places certainly sounded like enjoyment to her. Although she did wonder about that as she’d never had the courage to actually have a go herself. Instead she chose to hang back and watch as other waves moved forward and took the momentum. She had tried to change her shape like some waves so that she may take the surfers into her very centre and yet she hung back scared of hurting them. She’d also tried to do that thing with the air to make her very edges all white and foamy. But she withdrew fearing she’d not be able to go back to how she was. She also envied those waves who had the confidence to carry large ships towards their destination in their wake.

It was on one such day when she’d really had enough. She really was useless she felt and couldn’t do anything all the other waves could. Either she didn’t have the courage, the experience or the expertise. She also didn’t have anywave to ask questions and share it all with. It was in this heavy and depressing mood that she felt her self dragged down. Dragged deeper than she’d ever been before. 

Deeper, darker, colder. 

If she had felt fear in the past it was nothing to how she felt now. Down and down she went,.

Deeper, darker, colder. 

Her thoughts slowed right down, as if time itself was starting to move into slow motion. 

Deeper, darker, colder.

Until she finally came to a stop. She couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t feel anything and she was struggling to think anything.

She realised she was very tense and tried very hard to relax and allow some space between every fibre of her being. As she did this she realised that she felt a little better. So for the next few  - she didn’t know what they were -  they could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days or even weeks. So all we can say is that as time passed she felt lighter. 

She practiced very hard allowing space in-between every fibre of her being. She couldn’t do it all at once. She had to pick some part of her and concentrate very hard on that part and just breathe and allow space inside. It was as if part by part she was getting lighter and brighter, and was it her imagination or was she feeling a little warmer too?

What she found however was as soon as she started to wonder about what was happening, how it was happening and try to make it go quicker she started to feel the cold, she started to emanate less light.  Each time she then had to take a breath and start all over again. Slowly working her away around each part of herself. 

Over time she was able to hold on to this lighter and brighter state for longer. She found she didn’t have to concentrate quite so hard and could still manage to maintain this lighter and brighter state.

Finally she managed to be the lighter and brighter state. It was as if she had changed. It was as if she was no longer the wave trying to be brighter, trying to be lighter she was simply a bright and light wave. She puzzled over this for some time. She felt like she was still herself but she somehow knew she was different. The added brightness and added lightness had in some way changed her.

Of course what she had failed to notice was that once she was this different state she had also started to rise. Until finally she neared the surface and noticed her own lightness reflected in the water around her. She came to the surface and took a deep breath and allowed the rays of the sun to warm her. 

She looked around her and could see many waves all with the same lightness and same brightness as her. She felt an acceptance from them that she had never felt before. An acceptance for who she was and not what she could or couldn’t do.

She stayed with the other waves for many moons. She did many things she’d never tried before. She especially enjoyed the rushing into caves and being dragged back out with the momentum of those around her. She even had time to perfect the tender holding of surfers as they danced within her very core.

After one particularly exciting day she started to feel different. She started to feel even brighter and even lighter. As if even the very binds that were holding every part of her together were being pulled gently apart. Having been in the deep, dark and cold place before she didn’t consider this scary and even felt some excitement about what was happening. And so she simply allowed the transformation to take place. Until it was as if she was everything and everywhere all at the same time. There was certainly more ease, even more light, and bright just wasn’t the word for it. She just was, and realised that she had always been all that there is - LOVE.

Tortoise and the Hare

A short story from the archives originally published in 2013.

A friend asked to share this story as part of a relaxation session she's doing at a hospice later today. I wondered, therefore, if others may also find it speaks to them. So I share it here with an open mind and heart. 

The tortoise and the hare

I've always been a hare sort of girl. 

For me hares aren't just speedy but the first, the best and getting better every day. In a morning hares are wide awake and just want to get up and straight out into the world. They are prone to trying to do too much and as such sometimes need 'an all nighter' to get things done. Hares are prone to eating on the run and often get to the end of the day and realise they've forgotten to eat anything at all. Always with time and energy for others, always on the go and head buzzing with new ideas.

Tortoises are slow, everything is done just right and in its own time. Tortoises like to awake to the sound to nature not the alarm clock with time to contemplate the day ahead and plan what will be done when. Tortoises eat regularly and at a pace that allows their body to take in the nutrients of the food. Tortoises love others and yet know to put themselves first in order to be there for others for the duration. Which often means quiet time for themselves alone in some hidden corner away from others.

Each has their own way of being and doing that works for them so long as mind, body, heart and soul continue to be aligned. 

But what happens when a hare's body wants to go at tortoise pace and the mind is still a hare? What happens when a tortoise's soul starts to open and the need to be seen by others means hiding in a quiet corner is no longer something they can afford to do?

Whether we're a hare or a tortoise guilt, frustration and attachment are common themes when change starts to take place. Guilt of not being able to stick at the previous way of being, frustration at the slow pace of learning new skills or being forced out of our comfort zones and attachment to how things 'ought to be'.

The biggest error is buying into the collective consciousness of how things ought to be. Speed isn't right every time nor is a steady pace. As we learn from both these creatures we learn our body relishes the tortoises care and attention, our mind enjoys the hare's passion for creativity, the heart appreciates the way tortoise expresses love and our soul embraces the joy of hare. Each part of the whole asking us to accept their different needs and knowing alignment can be achieved, and yes without a dual personality. 

"A leopard can't change its spots" "Once a hare always a hare" no longer holds true.

As we personally evolve and emerge we must learn to listen to what our inner wisdom guides us to do, we must remember that, just like the butterfly, we can emerge more beautiful, graceful and at the other side of a transformation ready and able to handle what ever life has to offer.

Alison Smith

Landscaping Your Life 

Using nature to inspire change inside and out

The Wave

They say that we've moved into having portfolio careers where we have more than one string to our bow. Most blogs posted here tackle change management, personal development, communication and influencing with a smattering of purchasing and well being thrown in. In other words what the large majority of my coaching and facilitation involves. 

In today's blog I share, by request, a short story I wrote that others have found to be insightful, and which strays beyond my normal offering - the essence of which aligns with everything I do.

Love was a wave and she was a very lonely wave. She had travelled the globe in search of something more than the life she had. Surely there must be more to life than rising and falling and being dictated to by the bright glowing circle in the sky. 

She’d tried to ask other waves if they felt the same as her but they never stayed around long enough to give her an answer. From watching them she thought they looked satisfied enough. The sounds they made when the wind whipped them against the cliffs in far flung places certainly sounded like enjoyment to her. Although she did wonder about that as she’d never had the courage to actually have a go herself. Instead she chose to hang back and watch as other waves moved forward and took the momentum. She had tried to change her shape like some waves so that she may take the surfers into her very centre and yet she hung back scared of hurting them. She’d also tried to do that thing with the air to make her very edges all white and foamy. But she withdrew fearing she’d not be able to go back to how she was. She also envied those waves who had the confidence to carry large ships towards their destination in their wake.

It was on one such day when she’d really had enough. She really was useless she felt and couldn’t do anything all the other waves could. Either she didn’t have the courage, the experience or the expertise. She also didn’t have anywave to ask questions and share it all with. It was in this heavy and depressing mood that she felt her self dragged down. Dragged deeper than she’d ever been before. 

Deeper, darker, colder. 

If she had felt fear in the past it was nothing to how she felt now. Down and down she went,.

Deeper, darker, colder. 

Her thoughts slowed right down, as if time itself was starting to move into slow motion. 

Deeper, darker, colder.

Until she finally came to a stop. She couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t feel anything and she was struggling to think anything.

She realised she was very tense and tried very hard to relax and allow some space between every fibre of her being. As she did this she realised that she felt a little better. So for the next few  - she didn’t know what they were -  they could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days or even weeks. So all we can say is that as time passed she felt lighter. 

She practiced very hard allowing space in-between every fibre of her being. She couldn’t do it all at once. She had to pick some part of her and concentrate very hard on that part and just breathe and allow space inside. It was as if part by part she was getting lighter and brighter, and was it her imagination or was she feeling a little warmer too?

What she found however was as soon as she started to wonder about what was happening, how it was happening and try to make it go quicker she started to feel the cold, she started to emanate less light.  Each time she then had to take a breath and start all over again. Slowly working her away around each part of herself. 

Over time she was able to hold on to this lighter and brighter state for longer. She found she didn’t have to concentrate quite so hard and could still manage to maintain this lighter and brighter state.

Finally she managed to be the lighter and brighter state. It was as if she had changed. It was as if she was no longer the wave trying to be brighter, trying to be lighter she was simply a bright and light wave. She puzzled over this for some time. She felt like she was still herself but she somehow knew she was different. The added brightness and added lightness had in some way changed her.

Of course what she had failed to notice was that once she was this different state she had also started to rise. Until finally she neared the surface and noticed her own lightness reflected in the water around her. She came to the surface and took a deep breath and allowed the rays of the sun to warm her. 

She looked around her and could see many waves all with the same lightness and same brightness as her. She felt an acceptance from them that she had never felt before. An acceptance for who she was and not what she could or couldn’t do.

She stayed with the other waves for many moons. She did many things she’d never tried before. She especially enjoyed the rushing into caves and being dragged back out with the momentum of those around her. She even had time to perfect the tender holding of surfers as they danced within her very core.

After one particularly exciting day she started to feel different. She started to feel even brighter and even lighter. As if even the very binds that were holding every part of her together were being pulled gently apart. Having been in the deep, dark and cold place before she didn’t consider this scary and even felt some excitement about what was happening. And so she simply allowed the transformation to take place. Until it was as if she was everything and everywhere all at the same time. There was certainly more ease, even more light, and bright just wasn’t the word for it. She just was, and realised that she had always been all that there is - LOVE.

The day the earth cried

Writing inspired by this collage picture. 

The day the Earth cried 

The Earth cried the day the mist set in.

The grey fine mist had ever so slowly and incrementally, seeped unseen and unacknowledged into every nook and cranny of existence.

The beautiful sunrises and sunsets, 
The pale blue skies, 
The turquoise seas, and 
Green lush forests slowly being replaced by grey. 

Sunrises seen through view finders, and unappreciated in the rush to take a picture to share on facebook.

Sunsets ignored behind closed curtains in the desire to watch the latest box set on TV.

Blue skies taken for granted, despite humanity spending more time flying through its very heart.

Turquoise seas filled with 'stuff'' now required for existence.

Green lush forests bulldozered to sustain the ever faster and increasing pace of life.

Earth herself relegated to being a means to an end, and not the end itself. However much she wished for us to notice and engage in her beauty. However much humanities soul cried out for such connection, and however much individuals' bodies reacted to that separation. 

The earth cried as all she could do was watch the decent of all those she loved. Unable to take any proaction to stop that decent. Unwilling to turn away, and yet heartbroken with what she saw. Optimistic with every new sunrise that this would be the day the mist would start to recede, and crest fallen with every sunset that the opportunity had been missed. 

The earth still cries - can you hear her?
 
Alison Smith
Landscaping Your Life
Using nature to inspire change inside and out

Whilst not my normal means of communication other stories/poems written include The wave and The tortoise and the hare.