Ride the Wave

 

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If I could teach my kids (and myself) one thing this year- it would be …to ride the wave. 

 

The wave of emotion that overtakes and overwhelms.  The one that turns molehills into mountains.  The one that short circuits vision making it impossible to see past the trigger.  

 

We know about deep breathing, counting to ten, keeping the main thing the main thing.  Still,  when push comes to shove, and a tidal wave of emotion is shoved our way, nothing seems to stop the cork from coming out of the bottle.  

 

It ishard to ride the wave when you are drowning in it.  So how do we keep from drowning in a wave of intense emotion?  If I had a “ how to” I would be doing it, not writing about it.  I have no magic bullet, just a few thoughts on the process. 

 

1 Heed the storm warnings. Some situations are more emotionally charged than others, for example-times you are hungry, tired, or meeting up with the people who push your buttons. 

Prepare accordingly.

2 Strap in.  You know your impulse will be to jump off the wave and into a tirade of sorts.  Remind yourself ahead of time to bite your tongue.

3 If at all possible, look for ways to jump back on the wave. If you react rather than respond to a situation, apologize, or choose silence until you are ready to own your error.

4 Remember that practice makes… you better at riding the wave, so by all means practice.  Remember that no one is perfect, so accept and extend grace. 

5 Do not discount what does not work perfectly the first time, ie. Say you once took five deep breathes and it did not help you calm down, be open to trying some sort of breathing exercise again.

6 Think outside of the box.  Be curious about what might make you think twice before jumping off the wave. Experiment.

7 Pray about it.  Be moldable. 

 

Awareness is key, as is celebrating small victories.  Like any good surfer will tell you, if you want to learn to ride a wave, you have to get back up and try again when you fail.  We do not know what circumstances will make up the ebb and flow in the ocean of life this year.  Some waves will catch us by surprise.  May we be surprised by our ability to learn to ride the waves.

 

 

“But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay,, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

                                                                                                     Isaiah 64:(ESV)