Recently I heard a thought-provoking question: “How many summers do you have left in your life?”
It stopped me in my tracks. I want to make the best of each one. Today, I want to share a story from a late summer day that left an impact on me.
The Situation
Over the past decade, my biggest area of growth has been emotional regulation—learning to react less, and respond more.
Yet just the other week, I found myself caught in an old trap.
Someone very close to me made a dismissive comment, even poking fun at me, in front of a group. In that moment, I felt stung—small, disrespected.
For two hours on the drive home, the frustration brewed. Resentment grew, my thoughts spiraling into worst-case scenarios. What if I couldn’t even interact with this person again?
When I arrived home, I went to my favorite summer ritual: climbing onto the big rock at Edgewater Park on Lake Erie, just in time for sunset.
The Inspiration
The lake greeted me with more waves than usual that evening, rolling in with a push and pull, the surface restless and unsettled.
The golden sky melted into the horizon, and the sound of the waves steadied my breath. Their rhythm seemed to echo the turbulence inside me—acknowledging it, softening it.
Gradually, my inner waves began to subside, as though the water itself was washing them away, gently, steadily.
I was reminded of a teaching from the Indian mystic Osho, who compared the waves to the ocean. The waves are simply movements created by friction with the environment. But when you descend below the surface, into the depths, there is only stillness. And that stillness is the ocean’s true nature.
So it is with us. Beneath the surface of emotional storms lies our deeper self—steady, clear, whole. It’s always there. We just need to remember, and reconnect.
The Outcome
Sitting on that rock, I felt a renewed sense of calm settle over me. No longer a victim of the moment, I reclaimed myself as a creator. From that deeper place, strength returned.
From there, forgiveness was possible. I could let go of the sting, and instead design a simple communication approach—an open, calm conversation without judgment. A way forward into understanding, and better agreements for the future.
Reflections
How often do you find yourself swept up in unhealthy or unproductive emotional waves?
What helps you steady yourself in the moment?
And how might you more easily access the depth of your own inner ocean?
