Life Surfing
November 20, 2012
This week I attended a Soroptomist meeting that was focused
on teen esteem. Much of the focus was to bring awareness to teenage girls about
the dangers of drug use, alcoholism, sex trafficking and sexual
irresponsibility. It was amazing! Imagine a room full of 130+ girls and let out
of school for a day to attend this conference. They were all very lovely and
bursting with talent and potential.
The general theme of the presentations revolved around how
often feelings of loneliness, boredom, neglect and fear are the emotions that lead
many teens to trouble. Furthermore, many youth do not have the resources or necessary
support to encourage them through life’s changes. As I spent my time at the conference, I realized that learning
how to effectively deal with change is one of the best skills that a teen could
acquire when moving into adulthood. It is often a skill that many never
acquire.
Life Surfing: I liken change to the waves of the ocean. Change
is something you can always count on and can never prevent. However, if you are
not paying attention or if you don’t know how to stand up and balance yourself,
that wave of change will knock you down. Although being knocked down is
essential in learning how to get up, it is not a cycle that one wants to
repeat. Otherwise, the next thing you know, life is swirling all around you.
Waves of change should also not be taken personally.
It is silly to think that a wave hits us out of spite. It doesn’t make sense to
say “oh, that rude wave meant to hit me, it knocked me down on purpose”.
Instead, we see a wave crashing and instantly understand that the wave is doing
what waves do naturally. However, it is not natural for us to stay in one place while life moves forward. Yet, for some reason people are often resistant to change.
At this point many of you are already feeling the pulling
silent scream inside saying, “ I don’t want to change! It’s too scary!”
However, I invite you to embrace change and ride those waves to the shore.
Surfing Lesson
Today, I challenge you to make the decision to learn how to
surf. Create a written intention that reflects this new belief, such as:
I open my life to all
the adventures that come with change.
I look forward to the
next adventure that life has in store for me.
Think about some of the changes that are coming into your
life or changes that you may be resistant toward. Look at that change and ask
yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen if I learn to surf this wave?”
Focus on one change that you want to make that will change
your life for the better and break it down into manageable steps. For example,
someone wanting to loose weight might want to start with making small healthy
changes to their diet, such as, drinking an extra glass of water, adding an
extra vegetable or reducing sugar. Then take another step such as parking
farther away in the parking lots in order to get extra exercise.
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