Intro
Life is an ocean and the only way to get through it is to move forward by navigating through the waves. Challenges and opportunities often swell out of nowhere leaving us to figure out how to keep moving forward. Our journey and our path through life can take advantage of the natural balance that exists in all things. By understanding the natural rhythm and going with the flow instead of fighting it we can make informed choices that inform and align with our long and short term goals.
The only constant in life is change
In every choice there are three outcomes. There is to face the choice, turn and hide from it or decide not to choose. Imagine standing on the shore, feet in warm sun drenched sand looking out to sea. Every wave that rolls in is an opportunity. You can attack it and go over it, avoid it and go under it, turn and ride it or surrender to it and let it take you where it will. None of these is implicitly right or wrong but only you can decide which choice is right for your circumstances, which choice gets you closer to the goals you’ve set for yourself. What ever you decide, like any choice in life commits you to a certain pathway, a certain environment with opportunities and distractions. In these environments you need to trust your instincts but verify them with as much data from the environment as you can. Instincts will only get you so far if you can’t prove that they are leading you in the right direction.
Adapt and evolve with the Tides
Just like the ocean, life is dynamic. Think butterfly effect but on a micro scale. Everything you do affects everything else around you. I like to say, be aware of the effect you have on the world (because the world has an effect on you). Adapting and evolving what your goals are and how you are getting closer to them is who you are and much as the ocean fits itself to the shoreline as the tide rises and falls being flexible in your approach, being open to learning and willing to ‘quit’ a losing strategy will help you keep making progress towards your goal.
Rely on the Ecosystem and its Strength
Nowhere in the natural world is the interdependence and cooperation to support life more evident than in the ocean. All life came from the sea and the more tangled the web of connections, the more robust the system. The relationships that every organism has is rooted in the communication it has with other organisms. Predator and prey, parasite and host, mutualism, symbiosis are all relationships that depend on communication and balance to keep the ecosystem healthy. Communicating what you want or what you will do is essential to building a lasting relationship that will amplify the choices you make along the way. If you grow to much, to fast without contributing back to the relationship it withers over time. But, making balanced choices that benefits (or at least doesn’t hinder others) contributes to your healthier and vibrant ecosystem of relationships.
Guided by the Light
Weather it is the lighthouse on a rocky shore or the starlight that is billions of years old, sailors have always relied on visible, external sources to get them where they want to go. Much like an old school sailor following the North Star, a clear vision and well thought out plan will take you far. It will keep you on track when you shoot your azimuth and make smaller course corrections and it will keep you pointed in the general direction you need to go in the midst of a winter storm. Just as the steady glow of a guiding star or the pulse of a lighthouse through the fog will keep you from going astray, by planing your path you can make sure your steps are always moving you towards the final destination.
Outro
Every moment is filled with unpredictability. This makes it breathtakingly beautiful and full of opportunities while being filled with danger and distraction. As you come to understand your rhythms and adapt to them you will navigate the paths that take you where you want to go with grace and resilience. By making choices that resonate with your inner compass you can build a support system that will respond to the changing circumstances and guide yourself through your vision.
