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Surfing the Waves on Life’s Ocean of Possibilities
And the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.”
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow —
(Photo Credit: Doran Beach, by Author)
I am grateful to my beloved ancient mariner father for so many things. He has given me countless gifts in this precious lifetime. One of his greatest gifts to me is his love of the sea — second only to that of my life itself. In fact, “My Old Man and the Sea” would make a great title for our soul’s journey together.
Wave Jumping
As I shared in Finding Your Keel: How to Stay Grounded and Centered in Turbulent Times, my Dad introduced me to his great love at a very young age. One of my earliest memories of the sea, when I was a little girl of only about 3 or 4, is of my dad carrying me out into the Atlantic Ocean from the safety of the shore, me clinging to him as we journeyed through the surf zone to play a game he called “Do-si-do, over the waves we go”.
The essence of the game was to assess each wave and decide whether to duck under or jump over. With each approaching swell, we’d look at each other and shout “Do-si-do, over/under the wave we go” and then leap or dive depending on how close to the breaking point it was. It was a game that was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating and, like my early sailing experiences, evoked wild shrieks of fear and delight from me as we gleefully ducked and jumped, over and over again, grinning at each other when we’d reached the other side.
