When I was a little girl, my sisters and I would spend almost every Sunday at the beach either body surfing or boogie boarding.

Inevitably, we would get caught in what we would affectionately call the “washing machine,” in which we would be turned upside down on our heads, buckets of sand going up our noses and into our ears, accompanied by the inhalation of gallons of water.

The first time it happened to me, I was completely disoriented, scared, fighting against the disruption of the waves and not knowing which way was up. I struggled against the tide, struggled against gravity, and in my disorientation, finally found my way up to the surface, gasping for breath and crying in between gulps of air.

My mom saw all of this happen, and holding her trademark orange boogie board, paddled over to me.

“Mom!” I cried out, “did you see what happened? I’m never boogie boarding again!”

My mom gently re-fastened the leash to my wrist and gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever received. “You need to move with the ocean; instead of fighting it, let yourself relax and ease into the disruption. The wave will pass over you, and if you relax, you’ll be able to find your way to the surface. But if you fight it, you’re going to use up all your energy trying to figure out which way is up, and you won’t be able to have enough energy to catch the next wave.”

Lately, there have been many disruptions in my life, a few of them have been scary, but most of them have just been uncomfortable. And in speaking with friends and family over the last couple of weeks, I know I am not alone.

Disruptions are uncomfortable, and they are painful; we don’t know where our footing is, we’ve lost our “routines.” We have had to adjust to new work schedules, new living situations, new relationships, career changes, the list goes on and on.

So what are we to do about these disruptions? Well, for me, as hard as it is, I have been trying to relax into the disturbances, to ease into them, to move with them, and to know that these waves too shall wash over me. I can certainly fight the disruptions, but I know that I need to save enough energy to get ready for the next wave 🌊