About Transcend the Wave
I'll never forget the experience of learning to swim in the ocean as a young child. Living so close to the beach, 45 minutes with traffic and 45 minutes without, it was practically a rite of passage.
While none of us will ever swim in the waters of another's life, the characteristics of the water remain the same. We know there will be undertows, struggles, big and small waves, times when the ocean is packed with people, and other times when we'll find ourselves peacefully drifting alone. And other times when we decide to just plop down on the beach and dive into a chilled peanut butter and jelly sand-which (emphasis on the sand).
This writing is an exploration of how we can swim in the ocean of life without being tossed by the inevitable waves of our human experience. Those turbulent waves we question when we're in the middle of but somehow find thanks for when we realize we could have never learned to swim without them.
"Just remember, when you see a big wave coming, don't be scared. Just hold your breath and dive under it." This was how my dad taught me to handle the big waves. Little did I realize that I would still be using that same advice today as I dive deeper and deeper inside to touch the solid foundation within where waves can't erode.
To transcend means to go beyond. What we will attempt to transcend here is the limited confines of our mind whereby our preferences of how things should be leave us in a constant battle with reality. What if there really was a way to dive under the experiences, waves, that bring us so much suffering (note here that pain and suffering are two very different things)?
I think Byron Katie, best known for her teaching of "The Work," puts it best when she says,
"The single reason for psychological suffering is believing unquestioned thoughts." - Byron Katie
This writing will include many invitations to dive deeper to see past, past the past, what's just on the surface in an attempt to reach the root of why we suffer. Until we reach the root, our attempts to relieve our suffering will always end with us re-living the pain of the past (like cutting off the top of the weeds and wondering why they keep growing back).
Although the stories in this writing will revolve around the situations that have sparked joy/sadness/anger/happiness/suffering/etc. throughout Austin's 28 years on earth, I'm confident they will be familiar with what you have experienced here. Again, while the content of our lives may look different, we are all going through the same sort of things.
We are looking for ways to live our truth. We are deciding how to have a difficult conversation with a family member or co-worker. We are disappointed in ourselves because the same thing seems to keep happening. We are thankful because while we still slip and fall we see that we are falling less because of the work we've put in.
In my short time here, I've had the opportunity to see the power of vulnerability and how what I thought would separate or divide me from the people I loved, worked with, and interacted with was actually the exact thing that brought us together. And isn't that exactly what we need today? We surely don't need to automatically default to believing the surface-level differences that are most apparent. We have seen where this has gotten us. We're to the point where the quote below doesn't seem too far-fetched:
"Humanity is under great pressure to evolve because it is our only chance of survival as a race." Eckhart Tolle
There is pain today. There is fear. While these aren't new concepts, they do seem to be settling deeper in our bones. It's as if our continuing progression in solving the physical safety needs our ancestors contended with has now left us with a void that is being filled by worries, anxieties, and stresses concerning our psychological safety.
"Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit. Eventually everyone begins to realize, however dimly, that there must be a better way... this becomes a turning point." -A Course in Miracles
My hope is that this site will serve as a turning point for all of us. A reminder to slow down to see that our thoughts are not who we are and that just on the other side of them is a life filled with joy and peace (this doesn't exclude what we consider to be the "negative" emotions). This does not in any way mean we are supposed to become numb to life around us. Instead, it's an invitation to experience whatever life brings and then move to whatever is next. Too often we store painful experiences inside in an attempt to escape and fail to see how the aftershock of those experiences (that are over outside but not inside) are still impacting us and those we love.
While the path of inner growth is one we must travel ourselves, it does not only affect us. As we start clearing out some of our stored blockages, there will begin to be a space where we can choose to respond instead of reacting in our habitual ways. A space where we can choose to listen deeply and be with a suffering co-worker instead of immediately trying to solve their problem. A space to not lash out at our loved ones because of a bad day at work.
The more we clear out inside the more we will find ourselves effortlessly floating in an ocean of love wondering why it took us so long to find something we've had all along.
I look forward to continuing this inner journey with each of you.
Austin Seamster
July 2024