Riding the Waves
I've done a little sea kayaking. It's quite exciting to ride in a small boat in a five-foot swell. The person in the next boat may be only a few yards away, but one moment he's ten feet above me and the next he's ten feet below me.
When the ocean is calm, my kayak is stable and I move through the water easily. On other days, a gusty wind makes the ocean choppy and waves come from two different directions. When the sea is like that, I have to put my attention into keeping my balance, being neither two rigid nor too loose. Paddling is difficult, and I often feel that I'm making no progress.
When I'm in the middle of the ocean in a kayak, my first priority is to keep the kayak upright and me in it. That's the measure of my competence as a kayaker. I'm not at all concerned about keeping the kayak still, and a bit of chop and a few waves help to develop competence....Competence means being able to make the effort, no having this or that experience. As competence develops, you learn how to work with the choppiness of thoughts and the swells of emotions. The point is not to have a smooth ride; the point is to stay in the boat.