Alexander here.
In this talk,
I'd like to tell you about one event in my life that helped me to discover inner strength and ability to navigate in stormy waters.
Many times on my professional,
Music,
Healing or entrepreneurial path I felt like rocky waves were coming on top of me and chances of making it were getting slim.
Probably you can relate to those feelings we have in our lives.
But each time it was bringing up one specific event from my early teens.
Only because it was a positive experience of making it and staying afloat in stormy waters,
Literally swimming in the sea.
And it's only later that I realized that something important happened for me there.
Which is totally in line with ancient spiritual teachings,
Human mind,
Psychology and consciousness.
Essentially,
The lesson I learned was about not giving in to emotions and being calm in the face of the storm,
To eventually see that the waves were not my enemy at first place.
So,
Once I was at the seaside with my family and during a windy day I went to jump on waves without my parents.
They were sitting on the beach while I was playing in a relatively shallow water.
It wasn't deep.
And quite safe.
No one expected that something could go wrong.
But waves were getting stronger and stronger and they were pushing me sideways,
Away from the place where I walked into water by feet.
And,
After a while,
I suddenly realized I wasn't reaching the bottom anymore.
And my swimming skills weren't that good.
So I started singing.
And there was no one around me.
Just another man with his child playing far away.
And I realized that if I was to try to shout and ask for help.
.
.
I'd need to apply additional force to push myself out of the water and still they might not have heard me.
And I'd be splashing in water,
Losing my power more and more,
Even when I was already struggling to stay afloat.
So,
As my head went down underwater again,
My eyes opened and for a split second I was looking at the sky through the water.
And I thought,
Alright.
That must be it.
And it was almost like an angelic choir started singing somewhere far away in my head.
Very strange feeling,
I know.
And yes,
This second has stretched itself way,
Way more in my perception.
It seemed to last a lot longer,
Like it's been described by many people in similar situations when time slows down.
Then another thought came to my mind,
Even if that was really it for me.
What if there was still something I could try to do?
What would it be?
Of course,
The answer was obvious.
I needed to keep swimming as best as I can,
Not losing power where I don't need to,
Without panicking and making unnecessary loud splashes.
So I did.
And as I was getting closer to the shore,
The waves were pushing me towards it.
But then,
As the crest of a wave would break,
One part would rush to the shore,
But in the same time there was an opposite flow and the water was dragging me back into the sea.
For a moment,
Once again,
I thought I wouldn't make it.
Being already really tired,
It seemed I might not have had strength left to break through that crest and not to be dragged back to the water once again.
But soon I realized I just needed to stay afloat and another wave would come and push me back to the shore once again.
In a sequence of waves coming in and out,
The movement was in my favor,
Getting closer and closer to the shore.
I just needed to stop resisting waves coming out and simply stay on the surface.
And after several attempts,
It was easy to break through the crest of a wave and finally come on the shore,
Shaking from the amount of physical strain,
Stress and tiredness.
As I came to my senses and stopped physically shaking,
I went back to my parents as if nothing happened.
I simply didn't feel like telling them why would I,
Because I simply made it and the problem was already resolved.
It was a positive experience of learning to navigate in stormy waters,
Not fighting where it's not necessary,
Focusing on what's important,
And not letting stress and emotions to narrow down my attention and prevent me from seeing what is actually playing out in my favor.
And where is the solution and a way out?
I'm sure you've had many similar situations in other areas of your life,
Which are essentially about the same experience,
Of making it and not letting stormy waters to sink your ship.
And about being calm and present in the face of the storm.
