Lessons From The Ocean

 The vast expanse of the ocean may appear nothing but a cornucopia of water to you. Human beings never lose the ability to learn. They may stop learning but the ability stays within. Maybe it becomes dormant or maybe it is made to become dormant but from the day you are born till your dying day, the only thing that stays with you is your ability to learn, to infer, to grasp or just to simply observe. However, you may not find the ocean suitable to learn something from because we've been told that it is a place to relax, lay on your beach towels with your ray-bans on. You relate calmness in the chaos with ocean, as quoted from Virginia Woolf's The Waves "The waves paused and drew out again, sighing like a sleeper whose breath comes and goes unconsciously." The ocean is very distant from me. I am yet to meet the ocean. I am yet to feel the waves on my feet but the ocean has taught me four lessons and somehow, these lessons have become the only thing I need to be contended. 

1. Self Cleaning- The way we relish and connect with the nature varies from person to person. Some see unescapable beauty in nature and weave even prettier sentences out if it.  Some just appreciate it in their very own thoughts. At the beach, some click pictures, some worship, some sit and some even play. To my surprise, some even throw trash into the ocean. Not trying to be an environmentalist here, I believe the ocean self cleanses itself. Each wave of the ocean returns everything it takes from the shore. It always maintains its original and pure disposition. The external circumstances do not alter the ocean's originality. 

2. Recalibration- People walk to leave marks. Sometimes, scars. People leave footprints on the sea shore but the waves wash them away. The water clears them off as if they were never there, no traces at all. Living life in the moment is the only way you can retain your mark in the world. Letting go of things and, people and aiming high is what the ocean has taught me. 

3. Consistency and Uniformity- Ocean is the same for all. Neither does it engulf a criminal, nor does it foster a rich artist. Different people from different walks of life, from different roads, different journeys and different destinations find solace in the ocean. Pause, rewind, repeat but do not change. Do not change who you are for the external circumstances, for at the end of the day, you can't change the way someone perceives you. 

4.Acting as needed- “There was a star riding through clouds one night, & I said to the star, 'Consume me'.” Dear reader of mine, the ocean is not always serene and tranquil. With human interference, oceans and seas even cause tsunamis and cyclones. It acts as needed. We as human beings believe reflex actions and "reactions" are always necessary. A late constructive reaction is better than letting out words that shoot to kill. 

Ocean isn't an earthy tragedy. It isn't too austere to be ever salvaged. Pouring feelings into the ocean is an ancient practice. Living the life of a make-believe is not worthy enough. Unless you do something that challenges your reality, the universe can never be your friend. Believe in ocean. "Even the upper end of a river believes in ocean." 

-a.s