A new beginning

To say that I am at a turning point in my life, is an understatement and it's oddly refreshing. I titled my blog Ocean Waves because of the uncertainty ocean waves bring. Some waves are gentle ripples along the turf, others come crashing down. In life, we are taught to ride the waves, to realize that life isn't meant to be one steady stream. Life is choppy, life is joyous, life is painful - life is what you make of it.

Ever since I was a child I have loved the water - the sense of freedom it brought me. I spent hours upon hours in the Atlantic Ocean in the summers of my childhood. Anywhere my family went on vacation I would hope there was some kind of body of water I could be a part of (pool, ocean, lake and yes, even a stream). I loved the sensation of water running over my body, a cleansing - body, soul and mind. As I got older, I grew to love the powerful presence of the ocean, for its vastness serves to remind us just how small and sometimes how powerless we are.

I divided my time in the water between swimming and boogie boarding, though as I entered my adolescence, boogie boarding dominated. The appeal of the boogie board was likely the whole, 'riding the waves of life' was rumbling through my head. I tried to carve out the perfect ride from each wave. Needless to say I wasn't successful - so I kept going back out for more, to get that perfect ride, that perfect high. On top of the world. There's nothing finer than coasting on top of a wave and feeling yourself cutting through it to make the ride last longer. A rush followed by anything - an unexpected fault, another wave right behind it throwing you off your board or perhaps the greatest ride of the day. You'll never forget that wave.

I'm at a new wave in my life and I'm not backing down. There was a period of time I backed down from new waves and at the time I was extremely hard on myself for not even trying in the least. I'd dip my toes in the water with my board behind me, but I could not seem to bring myself to take the plunge. This time it is different. I have an entirely new perspective and I feel a certain confidence within me that has not been there in years. I'm not saying I'm not confident in all areas of my life, far from it. It simply wasn't my time.

My time is now, I can hear the ocean crashing against the sand, I'm standing with my board attached to my wrist - pressed up against my hip, the water's trickling through my toes. I'm smiling with my hair flying behind me, steady breath, full heart, nothing to lose, everything to gain...

this is more than a plunge. this is a tidal wave with most incredible possibilities.