Human Beings are Designed to Float
I have a vague memory of learning to swim when I was a very small girl.
My twin and I were in class together, and I remember getting to the point where I could go through tubes underwater and not be afraid. I suspect that was because it dawned on me that I was designed to come back to the surface if I got scared. Even if I could not swim well yet, the natural occurrence would be popping to the surface if I did not struggle. What a relief!
What I was not taught, and as far as I know very few people were taught, is that our psychology is designed to allow us to experience the sense of floating as well.
People often tell me that they finally relax when they are in the shower, or driving on a country road, or on vacation. In those moments, we have nothing on our minds and we come back to the surface quickly, much like a Beach Ball. When we listen to music or watch a sunset, our minds are quiet and we have a feeling of peace that is much like floating. Why is that?
It turns out that when we focus on a thought and intellectually try to solve a problem, understand something that frustrates us, or worry about something, that thinking almost literally weighs us down. Thought’s nature is to keep moving through us.
When we invite it for tea, is when we have trouble.
(One of my favorite Chinese proverbs goes something like this: You can’t control which birds fly over your head, but you CAN control which ones nest in your hair!) When we bring our intellect to something, we are focusing on a thought. If, while we focus, we begin to feel heavy or tense, let that thought move away like a cloud or bird, and wait to see what shows up next. If we feel interested and excited about our focus, follow that feeling. It will not lead you astray.
When we float, either physically or mentally (or both!), we have the luxury of letting thought just move through us.
It feels like listening to some lovely music, without having to know any of the lyrics or how the music was made. In those times, we can hear our intuition guiding us, and wisdom is suddenly pointing to new directions and ideas. We might suddenly have a realization, or even just notice that life is perfectly orchestrating solutions for us if we back away and let it.
Sometimes we worry because we think it is useful. We think if we do not worry, we are irresponsible. My experience is when I am ‘floating’ and have a sudden insight about what to do, I find myself almost jumping into action with all kinds of energy to bring to the new insight. The insight and the energy seem to come together.
So, try that this month. Practice being a Beach Ball.
Notice that you do not have to push the ball back to the surface. It is buoyant and pops to the surface on its own if we stop pushing down on it. And enjoy the waves rather than fighting them.