Atlantic lessons
My mother always told me to never turn my back to the sea. She told me tales of a sea that gets angered when it is underestimated, retaliating with aggressive waves that eventually pull you in, only to deliver you from its core and into the shore, lifeless, for having disrespected its majesty.
Growing up, I was never that girl who went to the beach and straight into the ocean, head first. I’d walk to the shore, get my feet and ankles wet and then go right back to my towel. Comfort zone: no harm, no danger. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to the sea and submerge my body in the vast, never-ending body of water. But the flashback of a 7-year-old me happily crashing into the waves, a sudden strike of despair when the sea attempted to suck me in and a gentle, familiar hand pulling me out made fear speak louder than the ingrown, buried desire to surrender to its potential liberation. Comfort zone: no harm, no danger; no adaptation, no change. The ocean is one of the most fascinating natural teachers in the world. However, just like in school, we will only theoretically learn if we are willing to attend class. So, one day, I decided to never miss a lesson again.
Here, our Atlantic presents several wonderful phenomena — to reach the freeing part of its existence, we must be willing to go through its barrier of discomfort. Unpleasant low temperatures and crashing waves that almost throw us to the ground, never trust the treacherous ocean. But, the more we relax into its first apparent unhospitable embrace, the more enjoyable becomes the experience. When we spot the waves curling at their
peak, that’s when we have to make the counter-intuitive move of advancing. When the stronger waves threaten to push us out, that’s when we must bend our knees and dive as close to the surface as possible facing the horizon. Then, a breakthrough might follow. As soon as I reach the softest portion of wave formation, I find myself yearning to run further into the vastness, almost as if chasing for a hit of something analogous to danger. This hunger can potentially get us closer to another powerful moment of absolute alignment with the ecstasy of feeling alive through all senses. Change. Head first, all in.
In Portuguese, they say “quem vai à chuva, molha-se”* as if it getting wet was a bad thing, but I learned that diving into the unknown is the optimal behaviour trend for learning something. Growth. Only the rarest biological bodies are capable of growing without a touch of water. But I am not rare, I am human and as long as I am breathing, I want to remain a student of all that I don’t instinctively comprehend.
My mother always told me to never turn my back to the sea. I never really understood what it meant. So thank you, sea, for teaching me.
This piece is based on true events and was originally written on July 26th, 2020.
