The other night, I randomly dove into two very different shows. One called Four Seasons and the other Tuiskoms. Somehow, both ended up riding the same emotional wave with women, post-life hiccup, signing up for surfing lessons.
Surfing? Not therapy. Not wine. Not screaming into a pillow. Surfing. Well, actually, there was screaming and breaking of figurines, but that is besides the point.
At first, I thought, Really? Is this the new midlife crisis makeover kit? A surfboard, a wetsuit, and some zen-like Instagram captions about the ocean healing you?
But then it hit me.
Surfing is exactly the right metaphor. These women weren’t just splashing around. They were learning to balance on something unstable, unpredictable, and powerful. Life. They were literally getting steady on fluctuating ground (er, water), one wave at a time. They didn’t wait for calm seas. They paddled into the unknown and hoped to stand tall before the next crash.
And isn’t that all of us, especially now? We can’t control the tide. We can’t control the wind. But we can show up with a board and some determination. We can try to catch the wave. Whether the wave be that of joy, resilience, or reinvention when it comes.
Because sometimes, the only way forward after a big change is to do something completely new. Something that terrifies you a little. Something that requires balance and bravery in equal measure.
So, here’s to catching waves, even metaphorical ones. To steadying ourselves on unsteady surfaces. To not knowing where the shore is, but moving anyway.
And maybe next time I get knocked over by life, I’ll channel my inner surfer and paddle back out with salt in my eyes, hair a mess, spirit a little braver.
Categories: Culture, identity, mental health, Pop Culture, Psychology, TV, women
psychologistmimi 
Perhaps There is A Hint in Blackest
Holes of Life Dear Miriam as Even
Theories In Quantum Mechanics
Suggest Dying Stars in a Dance
of Spin and Torsion Falling
Into Black Holes
Come Into
A Balance
That Births
New UniVerses
Out of Fall For New
Spring of Life Perhaps
Hehe Even More Peaceful
And Loving
Than
Us
Ah Yes
What Everlasting
Hope is Made of Balance
Yet In Human Terms Balance Now
is a Perfecting Practice of Life New
Always Adapting to Everlasting Change
Waves High Waves Low We May Even
Move In Meditation in Flow ThiS WaY
On Terrestrial Smooth Store Floors
Hehe Yes i’ve Seen Felt and Sensed
The Balance of Paradise All 140 Months
Now and 21,818 Miles For Real Yet Key Is
New Beyond All Distance Space Time and
A Matter of
Things THere
Is Still Balance
to Perfect Now in Every
Holy Move of Dance And
Sacred Word of Song We Continue
to Create Free Birthing New UNiVerses Every Breath
Within With Every Wave We Surf High and Low Yes
With
SMiLes
For Real..:)
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Every day I struggle to sleep, to move, to NOT be in pain, to write my fiction, to do anything – I would love to worry about standing, about maintaining a balance and being out in Nature and even walking on the beach and dipping into the ocean.
I don’t get to, because the research into ME/CFS (and Long covid and… – the other post-viral illnesses) was not done decades ago when I first got it, and it not being done now. I find it hard to be enthused about things I haven’t the slightest chance of even trying – to smell the roses I’d have to leave this room.
I hope those who can, go out and enjoy, and make good choices, and celebrate – I don’t begrudge them their luck, and the answer to “Why me? ” is simply “Why NOT me?” but do have a thought for the rest of us when you can.
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As a metaphor it works great.
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