Last week, I made my way up to Kawartha Lakes to spend four blissful days in the middle of nowhere with nothing but my love, the lake, and the trees. During my stay it so happened to be four of the hottest days yet this year. Needless to say, I spent the majority of my time at the lake whether it was boating over to the bay for some shaded fishing, or wading my way down the shore to a nearby sandbar.
During these lengthy water visits I made a curious observation. I noticed that I was feeling a connection or interaction with the water each time I came into contact with it. However, the connection or feelings that I had in response to my interactions with the water would vary depending on how I was interacting with it. In other words, the connection I felt when I was on top of the lake in a boat was not the same emotional connection I got from being in the lake.
Whilst in the boat on top of the water, I had a feeling of freedom. It was almost a feeling of superiority, like I was invincible or untouchable on top of the water. It was as if I had conquered the very nature of the lake. In contrast, when I would swim in the lake with the water completely surrounding my own being, I felt more like I blended in. I felt invisible and unnoticed as if I were a part of the nature of the lake itself.
How could this be that I could experience completely different emotional connections while interacting with the same inanimate thing?
First, it is important to understand that just like an animal or tree or human being, lakes, rivers, oceans, and other bodies of water are also all equipped with a spirit. When you interact with a spirit in different ways it’s likely to have different outcomes.
As for the lake I was spending time with, I realized when I was in a boat on top of the water I was controlling the depth of the interaction I was experiencing. The fibreglass between myself and the water acted like a barrier. It provided a platform for me to skim the surface of the water without having any direct contact or involvement with it. So long as I could control the boat, I could avoid sinking and even getting wet.
This differed greatly from how I felt when I dove in. When one enters water, sinking is the first inevitable step (we never float without trying). You jump in, sink, and make your way to the surface. When you jump in, you are fully submerged- at the mercy of the nature of the water and its contents. Then you adapt, working with the nature of the water and become a part of its system.
Sometimes, we find ourselves on autopilot- boating along, skimming the surface, floating around the easy way to find a shaded spot of comfort.
But…the best way to achieve a full force connection is to dive right in to the deep! Remove the fibreglass-boat-barrier that is stopping you from a direct interaction. Fully submerge into the water if you really want to get to know it.
Fully submerge yourself into anything if you really want to know the ins and outs.
Open water can be scary- things graze your legs, you can’t see what you might be stepping on or what could be swimming a meter away from you. But if you surrender your fears or reservations and jump right in to something, the emotional connection is a million times stronger.
So next time you find yourself on a boat adventure, ask yourself if you to just keep skimming the surface or if you could be missing out on not diving right in.