Some days, it seems as if the “rising-waters-of-life” are too much, and there’s nothing we can do.
I remember one such time well. My place of employment was vandalized – again. This time, the vandals pushed a hose through the window of the bathroom in my office, turned on the faucet and disappeared. I wasn’t in the office when it happened but came back in, moments later as the water poured into my office. I could feel the stress rising within me.
That experience has become an apt image for me over the years of those “rising-waters-of-life” times when exterior circumstances are such that I feel flooded-with-stress.
What about you? Can you relate to an experience – in the past? What about now?
Are the personal ‘waters of your life’ rising? Are personal stressors of health, finances, relationships, pummelling your emotional inner shores? Is anger, depression, exhaustion, grief, worry about your future/that of a loved one, further pounding your emotions? Distress robs us of living life to the fullest. Distress denies us the opportunity to be whole in body, mind and spirit.
If we were honest, we would admit that some personal distress waters can be avoided if we paid attention to our bodies, minds and souls in particular ways like caring for our bodies: driving carefully, eating sensibly, getting adequate amounts of rest, having regular dentist and doctor check-ups, following doctor’s advice, not worrying while waiting for results of medical tests; exercising our minds: reading books, listening to various kinds of music, playing an instrument, developing a hobby, learning a new language; nourishing our souls: savouring the beauty of the world around us; being humbled by the awareness of the gift of our life; being appreciative of, and thankful for, the blessings around us, sitting still and be-ing.
What about the corporate distress waters that are rising quickly these days – global stressors of politics, terrorism, lack of access to clean water, fresh air, food, housing, medical/dental care? What about the rising waters of dictators, autocrats, loss of democracy?
Are any of these corporate distress waters flooding your thoughts and bringing about sleepless nights?
Some would say that little can be done about corporate distress. But, perhaps, there are things — when elections happen, we can … exercise our right to vote at each election (municipal, provincial/state, national/federal) and cast our ballot for the candidates we think will make a positive difference in the environment, legal system, health care, educational system, security, environment etc. The United States has just had their election for the head of their country. Canada will have their election in October 2025. In general, we can … become involved in local communities and volunteer time to organizations which work so faithfully at inculcating morals and values; work with and care for our youth, the elderly, the unemployed, the single parent families, the abused, the victimized, the homeless, the hungry, the mentally ill, the addicted, etc.
We can pray – however we understand that word – pray that the evil (for there is evil in the world) doesn’t overwhelm us, infiltrate the hearts and minds of our youth, contaminate politicians, corporations and institutions any further … pray that goodness will reign; hope will be experienced; inner joy will permeate each woman, child, man, youth; wisdom will be respected; and peace, not conflict or war, will be the mandate of all governments and societies.
And we can share with another – be that a trusted friend, colleague, mentor, counsellor, loved one … and give the fear a voice so that it no longer is trapped within us.
Yes, let’s name the “rising waters of life” that frighten, numb, shock. “Naming” our feelings, our reactions … whether large or small, big or little distress, there IS something we can do to reduce the impact in our daily living of the rising-waters-of-nature/personal concerns/corporate concerns to hopefully will help us rise above the rising waters. May it be so.
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Photo & Text © June Maffin
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Photo taken of waters off Vancouver Island
Very well stated.
Many of us here feel it can’t get worse until the next tweet.
But you hold many of us sane, which is not easy now
Thank you June. Beautiful words and much food for thought.
Surprisingly, this brought to mind a rather humourous memory of rising-waters-of-life for me! And although all of the stressors you mention are forefront in my mind these days, your story about the hose being put in the bathroom of your office brought back a memory of my dear cousin many decades ago when we were kids. I won’t name this particular cousin, but he was a rascal! All we cousins were staying overnight with our dear grandparents one weekend, and this particular cousin liked to play with buttons, hoses, mechanicals, electricals, anything that would cause a reaction. So my mischievous cousin found the garden hose and put it through our grandparents’ back door and flooded their basement. There was a great deal of yelling and distress (this was before the shop-vac was invented), but I remember our grandfather, Papa, chuckling. It was rare to see Papa chuckle about anything. As a genocide survivor, he rarely chuckled or even cracked a smile. But he chuckled then, and he rewarded our cousin with a few coins, even while he told his grandson he was “bad”. I don’t know, it’s just a really sweet memory I have. Those of us who are descendants of genocide survivors are not surprised at all by the difficulties that face us now and are sure to face us going forward. We are strong yet, and we will still find joy, resilience, and pushing back no matter what comes.