I grew up near the Ocean. The city nearest, Saint John, NB had a booming shipbuilding industry from the 1920’s to the late 1990’s. The port city is protected inside a harbour on the Bay of Fundy. It’s here where I learned what a spring freshet is, tides, brackish water, and how the Saint John River and all it’s waterways flow into the Bay of Fundy and then into the Atlantic Ocean. The Bay of Fundy is host to the highest tides in the world rising 16 metres. It’s these cliffs and banks that the ocean would instruct me how to find JOY through suffering, and what being ALIVE meant.
Listen to this song Salt Water Joys, by Buddy Wasisname and the Otherfellers while you read. Saltwater joys – YouTube Music
Walking on the ocean floor in Alma collecting shells and sea glass and watching the fishing boats in the distance waiting for high tide so they could return home. It’s something few people in the world can boast about. It wasn’t until I visited Pouch Cove, Newfoundland that I experienced with my eyes the immense power of the Atlantic Ocean. I would learn the spiritual connection between nature and humans. The storms of the sea resemble the storms of life.
Storms of the Sea resemble the storms of LIFE
For the first time I would see several ice burgs floating past, and an estuary of Beluga whales from the air. What was most astonishing, and if I close my eyes, I can still see it, were the calm swells of the ocean. When you look onto the Atlantic Ocean you can see that it is ALIVE, constantly moving. On a calm day you see the waves motion up and down. A big version of when you splash around in the bathtub. That day, when I looked out, I could see what looked like a huge whirlpool just off the coast. Two big schools of fish swirling the water in different places would be disrupted by feasting whales. Incredible!
Salt Water JOYS
Years of waking each day, performing tasks, and consistently moving forward would unearth the JOY discovered from the sufferings of life, and comfort in discovering the sea and how she weathers storms. Salty water from the ocean stings when you have a cut on your skin, and emotions sting just as much when suffering heartache. Forgetting how to be ALIVE, not remembering how to live, sometimes spending months or years in a coma waiting to feel anything.
The Merriam-Webster definition of ALIVE: having life, not dead or inanimate.
Discover how to be ALIVE
A new kind of discovery occurs after waking from being inanimate. What are my hobbies? What do I like to eat? Where would I like to explore? Who am I without the person who is no longer here? How do I become ALIVE?
Watching these small swells sending crashing waves onto the rocks display the power of the water. Piecing together the significance of the moon and tides and oceans and how it affects our bodies, and moods. If we can just learn from the sun, moon, and the never-ending revolving earth. Appreciate how they move in sync with one another. Watching these moments, nature teaches how our moods mimic the ocean and the effects of how they crash the rocky shores. Observing the ocean and allowing it to instruct healing, to find the JOY through suffering.
The trough of the wave cause sadness and chaos
We know about the crests and troughs of our feelings. There are high points of our day, week, year, and our life. We have experienced the troughs; they bring us sadness and chaos. The world looks brighter when sailing the wave, and the feeling like we may have to abandon ship when we’re sinking. The bigger the swells, the harder the waves crash.
Often, after I feel I have accomplished something great, I feel defeat and regret a few days later. I never knew why, I always thought it was my inner voice speaking down to me and causing me to feel insecure. It turns out it’s just nature. Many athletes who break records and win gold medals oftentimes experience a depression after the victory. Some call it a roller coaster, I call it nature.
Look Ahead to the Horizon
I rode that swell many years before I had to let go of a piece of my heart. Reminding myself everyday that it’s just a season in time, and before long the sun will shine, and I’ll discover JOY once more.
The ocean is just as alive as us. It’s the storms that cause these waves and it sometimes takes a few days for the waters to calm, but even then, there are ripples. About 60% of the human body is made up of water; therefore, the full moon affects these tides, affecting our bodies and moods.
If inanimate is the definition of not ALIVE, then movement is the cure to finding existence
If inanimate is the definition of not ALIVE, then movement is the cure to finding existence. The most profound thing I learned after losing my father was that the world around me was still moving. So wrapped up in my own grieving I thought everything had stopped. The buses kept running, the neighbours still went to work, the mail kept coming, the sun rose and set everyday. Take notice next time you drive to work, what is happening around you? What are your salt water JOYS?
So many people are on a constant search for JOY and happiness. It’s not possible to be joyful everyday of life. My advice is to weather the storms, accept that it’s the trough of the wave, and hold onto your seat. The higher the crest, the lower the trough. Celebrate the victories and prepare for the next tsunami. The feelings will level out just like the swells of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. You will experience true JOY when you heal from the suffering of sadness and hurt, one tide at a time.
Thank you for visiting this post. Feel free to share and comment.