Ride The Wave

I am wired for speed. I like a fast pace..... or rather, I am so used to a fast pace that when I am not on the go, I feel weird. This way of being worked for me for a long time. But I'll tell you, it's tiring. I'll bet you know what I mean.

My coach Matthew Ferry teaches about "riding the wave"... noticing that there are high points and low points in every wave, the trick is to ride when it comes and REST when the next one is one its way. This is where I get stuck. I totally get the "ride" part.... I imagine a surfer on his board flying across the water, shifting his weight to stay upright, and yelling Yaaaahhhhhhoooooooooooo all the way down. Cool huh?

Ok, here's the tricky part for me to grasp. ALL GREAT SURFERS WAIT FOR THE NEXT WAVE. They paddle out... they get prepared... and they wait. They don't try to force the wave to happen. They don't get antsy that the wave isn't here yet. They aren't fearful that maybe another wave really isn't coming.

No, they get themsleves prepared and they have faith that lots of great waves are on the way.

My intention these days is to enjoy the 'no wave' time. To rest, renew, be in an anticipatory state expressing pure joy that a wave is forming that will blow my mind.

Yahoo!

Comments

[Loren Fogelman]

Kristen, I can relate to your story. I love riding that "wave" as well. Instead of viewing the rest period as a separate part, I would suggest looking at it as the middle of a cycle. This would view the rest as the connector between one wave to the next. Instead of it being a "rest" choose to view it as a preparation period. During this time you are building strength, working on endurance and focus. This is similar to an athlete in training preparing for the next event. Basically, the perception makes the difference.