Halfway through a dip in the sea, I once swallowed a mouthful of seawater and announced that the sea was against me.

A friend swimming beside me said, “The sea has never heard of you, Bob. Keep swimming.”

He had a point. I had become so busy quarrelling with each wave that I had forgotten where I was going. One wave slapped my face. Another arrived just as I opened my mouth to complain about the first. By the time I looked up, my friend was nearly at the shore, while I was still conducting negotiations with the Arabian Sea.

Many of us live like that. We have a shore in mind, perhaps a loving home, a worthwhile career, a good school, or an organisation that serves people well. Then a wave comes along. Someone criticises us. A colleague gets promoted. A family member says something unkind. Suddenly the destination disappears, and all our energy goes into proving that the wave had no right to wet us.

Our political parties seem particularly skilled at this form of swimming.

The ruling party sees the opposition approaching and shouts, “A wave! Stop it!” Ministers, spokespeople and every available microphone are summoned to splash back. Sometimes even unfair methods are used to push the wave aside. Meanwhile, the shore, which is the country they were elected to serve, grows no nearer.

The opposition is in the next lane, pointing at one enormous wave called Modi. “Look at the size of it!” they cry. Fair enough. But voters waiting on the beach would also like to hear where the opposition intends to take them. A vision of India cannot consist entirely of a weather report about one man.

I imagine a swimming coach standing on the sand, shouting, “Where are you both going?”

“We’re defeating each other!” comes the answer.

“Yes,” says the coach, “but the rest of the country is still in the water.”

The same question is useful at home. When a husband and wife spend an evening deciding who started an argument, the children may be wondering when their parents will start speaking kindly again. The shore is a happy family. Winning the argument is only another mouthful of salt water.

A leader facing criticism can ask it too. “What did we set out to build?” That question helps us decide which waves need attention and which can pass beneath us. Some may be strong enough to make us change course. We should listen to those. But we need to look up regularly, or we may spend our whole lives swimming in circles.

And when the shore is hidden by darkness, look for the lighthouse. Its light comes from Above. It does not remove the waves or swim the distance for us. It shows us where to point our arms, where to place our trust, and which direction leads home.

So take a breath, dear swimmer. Lift your head. See the light.

The shore is waiting…!

———————————-

Become an author… Click here

————————————-

Would love to hear from you in the COMMENTS section below…and IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE BOB’S BANTER EVERYDAY, PLEASE SEND YOUR NAME AND WHATSAPP PHONE NO TO [email protected]
————————————————–