The Wisdom of the Waves

Cloistered Nuns, hysterical moms, and a day at the beach

My son, Mike, surfing.

I'm reading a manuscript. 

It's by a friend who happens to be a Cloistered Nun.

It's one of the most incredible things I've ever read.

And I was reading it on the beach.

Okay, I may have used the manuscript as a bit of an excuse to head to the beach. My family would side-eye me and ask, "Don't you have work to do?" to which I would reply, "This IS work," and "I can even read better at the beach because there are no distractions!" 

All of which can be argued to death, but regardless, I ended up reading it at the beach.

The manuscript has just been completed, and my Nun friend wrote it so that she speaks of life in a Cloister in modern times and yet intertwines this deep spiritual wisdom and guidance effortlessly. 

It's truly breathtaking.

And if you're a publisher and you're interested, email me, and I'll send you a copy. 

But I digress.

The only thing this has to do with the manuscript is that it was my excuse for heading to the beach in the first place.

While I was there, I saw something that deeply moved me.

There was this young mom.

She had two mischievous children somewhere between five and seven, I'd say. 

To say they were ignoring every word the mother shrieked would pretty accurately describe the setting.

They would run into the water and then in opposite directions, mind you…

And in due course, between the crashing of the waves, the screaming of the mom, and the children's laughter, my eyes looked up from the epic manuscript I was reading.

I understood what I saw, and I empathized. 

But I couldn't have imagined what would happen next.

The mom, in the water in an attempt to do an end run on her two escapee children, screaming at the top of her lungs, veins bulging…

Everyone on the beach saw it.

She didn't.

A wave.

A ridiculously big wave.

I guess the mom was too absorbed to hear the collective gasp of every beachgoer from here to Hawaii.

It came down on her like, well, let's say the sea absorbed her.

No more screaming mom

At least for a minute or so that is

As the wave retreated emerged this crawling, sea-sodden, gasping woman…

Until her eyes regained focus and locked like lasers on her kids.

Time stood still.

She glared at them, and they stared wide-eyed back…

And then the unthinkable happened.

She exploded with laughter, and then the kids did, too, rushing towards the mother's welcoming embrace.

Then they laughed, splashed, and screamed…together for the rest of the day.

It was beautiful to behold.

One moment a person's angrily struggling to control others; the next, joyfully leading the charge with the others gleefully following.

What an incredible transformation.

Here's the thing.

We all try to keep things together and do what's best for those under our care. But perhaps sometimes we don't see them; we only see our will for them.

Anyway, it was beautiful. And I wanted to share it with you. 

One last thought.

I caught this little drama out of the corner of my eye. Leads me to ponder, how many have I missed?

I suppose if we were to really pay attention, we'd see more beautiful things than the headlines would lead us to believe.

We'd see love.

We'd see generosity.

We'd see goodness.

Perhaps it's time to make a summer resolution.

Mine will be to pay better attention to those around me.

Wishing you all a Blessed and restful Summer :-)