Holding on to the Calm of Fall

By Lisa Payne

Have you ever been to the Thunder Bay wave pool at Waterworld? I had the privilege of sitting by it one day, for six hours, while my kids and their friends ran around the park. I had a nice shady spot with my portable fan and felt very content. I was having so much fun watching all the excitement every ten minutes when the waves started up. The whole crowd would scream at the top of their lungs and ride the waves for a minute and then settle back down, patiently waiting for the next round. It became background noise after a while, as I settled into my book.

But it was during my reading break, two hours in, that I really sat and watched the crowd in this wave pool. This was a day in all of their lives where they were so happy. I have no idea what any of their life situations were, but for the hours they rode the waves, they were full of anticipation, and then an adrenaline high as they bounced around, and then back to calm. This goes on all day, every day, during the summer months.

I started to think about riding the waves of life. There are the calm periods where everything seems fine. And then the situations where you feel a lot of anticipation and excitement. And finally the epic high of riding the huge wave you’ve been waiting for. It can also go the other way. Where life feels calm and fine. And then there is the anxiety of dealing with something that we wish would go away, and then sometimes having to deal with a bigger issue that makes our world come crashing down. Eventually, there is the calm again, as we learn to live life in our new normal.

Both are inevitable. We hang onto the memories and feelings of the positive emotions and try to forget the uncomfortable times of our lives. This is natural. Remember the good, forget the bad. But hopefully along the way we gain wisdom and clarity that we can rustle over to the positive side of our life experiences. There is always a silver lining, even if it is very small or hard to find.

For me, September feels like the calm settling in after the big anticipation of summer and riding out all of the summer fun. I try not to think too far ahead to anticipate the holidays and riding that next big wave. I want to enjoy the down time. I want to eat dinner together again and hike in the cooler weather of fall. Recharge myself. Ride out this calm as long as possible.

I hope you can find your calm this month and use its restorative energy to help keep your world positive and full of love.