Waves That Can Overwhelm Us and Knock Us Down
The scene was set:
Beautiful beach.
Cute new pink bikini.
My husband beckoning at me from the shallows of the ocean.
All I had to do was wade in and join him.
I took a few steps toward him.
And then the wave hit me. It knocked me down with a massive slap. I was completely shocked. I stumbled and scrambled up only to be slapped down a second time. I was incredulous – how could this possibly be happening to me? I felt like a jumble of disparate parts on that beach – like a marionette whose strings had suddenly been dropped. I felt the stark reality of my powerlessness and smallness vis à vis the enormity of the ocean. Somehow, and it seemed miraculous to me at the time, I rose up and stood on my own two feet again. Shaken but whole. (And I did get to swim with my husband.)
That wave slap experience has stayed with me over the years in a visceral way. Lately, I have been noticing that my experience feels akin to what can happen to us when life comes at us in a wave - of emotions or thoughts or circumstances - and hits us unexpectedly. It's that same terrible feeling of overwhelm and of powerlessness.
So many of us feel overwhelmed on a regular basis. It’s not surprising. Life is happening fast and intensely and is ever more complex. The stress and overwhelm can make us feel small and powerless and protective of ourselves, and those we love. We may feel that life is a struggle much of the time as a result.
It might seem counter-intuitive at first, and way too vulnerable, but there is a way of learning to accept and work with life’s circumstances, as well as our powerful thoughts and emotions, so that we create an experience in our lives that feels more flowing and easeful, and less like struggling and fearing being overwhelmed by big scary waves.
I too have suffered from feelings of overwhelm, both personally and professionally. I know that these feelings have kept me playing small in the past, because I have felt small and afraid. But along came my mentor Claire Zammit and her body of work called Feminine Power. Claire taught me how to connect with my courageous self (and all my disparate parts, some long neglected). And then she taught me to how to connect with that powerful energy of life, and work with it (more often than not) rather than struggle against it and get overwhelmed on a daily basis. Building on those foundations, Claire then gave me the tools to more powerfully and deeply connect with others and be on the path to creating the life and work that I have long desired. I am so grateful to Claire, her work and the incredible women in Feminine Power.
And, since I have learned how create my life and work in this way, I have been thrilled to be supporting other courageous women to be creating from their desires and experiencing more ease and flow in their lives as a result. It is a joy to witness! And it gives me hope for our world when I see women rising into their power.
We will be exploring this way of being in our next Feminine Power Women's Circle on April 25 in Toronto where the theme will be Flowing.
If you are curious and you're in town, do come and join us. It may take courage - I like to remind myself that being courageous is, by definition, taking action in the face of fear.
Here’s to more ease and flow in all our lives!
Warmly, Milisa
