Surfing The Waves of Change

At certain times in history change happens quickly. Suddenly, the game changes: The 1929 Stock Market Crash, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, 1968, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 9/11 were among those times. We are in the midst of one of those times now. The environment is in trouble and people are noticing. Our fuel supplies are uncertain and that has gotten our attention.  The economy is quaking and it is clear that the system as it exists now has to change. Race and gender relations have shifted so that a black man can become president of the United States and women candidates are taken seriously. This not a time for complacency. It is a time to make adjustments. We can do it the hard way or the easy way.

When the surf is up, if you stand in the way of ocean waves they will knock you over and you will not know up from down. But if, as the wave is about to crest, you dive into the wave, it will roll over you, and you pop up on the other side unharmed. If you can swim and you are paying attention, there is nothing to fear. There is however incredible joy to be had in the experience.

To the casual observer, the ocean is unpredictable. To a surfer, that’s not the case. To catch a wave, one must get out there in the water and become part of it. One must observe and sense the movement. What appears random has a pattern, and by paying attention with open mind and senses the surfer can judge what’s going to happen in the waves before it becomes obvious to the unskilled. In that knowing comes the ability to respond appropriately.

Change is happening to all of us. The wave of change has not yet crested. It is time to be involved and pay attention, not just with our linear consciousness, but with our intuitive senses. Events may appear random because we don’t know enough about their causes and the conditions from which they arise. Patterns of emerging events are present before we recognize them. We will only know how to respond if we open our mind, release obsolete views and use our intuition.

If you want to surf the wave of change, keep your senses open. Practice observing patterns. Instead of tracking just one wave, see the whole body from which it arises. Instead of getting overly focused on what’s going on just in the stock market or in politics, see the broader picture. Notice where the energy is flowing and where it seems stuck. Remember that the tide comes in and then it goes out. If you can predict the oscillations, you can know where to be at the right time.

Control your fears. Know who you are, what you are good at and what you need to improve. Build on your strengths and remedy your weaknesses. Tune in to what is really important. Our lives can be full of distractions, so take time to be quiet, to think, to write,  to pray, and to love. Hang loose.

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