sunset, stars, and seasickness 🌅 🌟

Recently I had a new opportunity - my daughter and I spent a night on a houseboat anchored in a bay of Lake Michigan!  (See pic below).  

We were guests on a fairly calm night.  There were many moments of peacefulness - visiting as the sun set, awaking as the sun rose, surrounded by the beauty of the water.  

As I tried to sleep, I could hear the water knowcking against the boat.  When my daughter woke at 2 a.m. to "go to the head" (a boating phrase she was thrilled to learn and use for using the bathroom on the boat) she was overjoyed to peer through the window of above our bed and see stars.

"Look, mommy!  All the shooting stars!"

She didn't quite have perspective that it was us roacking back and forth - not the stars.   ✨ 😉

I, however, was caught between the joy of the experience and my seasickness, which was growing with the size and sound of the waves.

The whole next day...and some of the day after that, I felt unstable and nauseous (even though I was back on solid ground).

I grew up loving the water.  Even so, I was unsettled by the change in my equilibrium.  I spent the next days moving gently and slowly, pausing for deep breaths, and steadying myself against the ground under my feet and the desk in front of me.

My daughter, on the other hand, loved every minute and wasn't bothered one bit!  If she'd had her way, we'd still be at sea!  🌊 

If you're anything like me, there have been times where an experience rattled you in a way that lingered...even as others in the same place and time were completely unaffected.  Perhaps it was a comment made, the drift of someone's eyes, or a schedule or policy change...

Whatever it was, how did you respond to your unease? 

Did you tend to it gently, with compassion and understanding?  

Did you doubt or critique yourself for feeling bothered when others were not?

Did you share with challenge and discomfort, or keep it to yourself?

How did you listen and tune in to the messages in the experience?

In my example, of course, it reminded me of my propensity to motion sickness!  😂 In all sincerity, though, it also reminded me how I could feel both grateful and unsettled at the same time.  

I realize I have similar feelings (with only slightly less nausea...and maybe sometimes more 😉) when I read the news, respond to biased remarks, or speak in front of groups.

What do you do with your insight and awareness?  What lessons, and actions, do you take away?

I could, for example, interpret that I should never step foot on a boat 🚤 again..or that I should live "at sea" 🌊 so I can practice and adjust.  🤣

Instead, I am reminded that even when I feel unsteady, I can survive, do hard things, and appreciate the meaning and purpose behind it.

What about you?  What do you take away from the moments that "rock" you?  Your strength?  Perceptiveness?  Resilience?

While there are ways in which my "sea legs" have little to do with social justice, there are ways in which any challenge can serve as a reminder... Even when unsteady, you can continue to stand strong in who you are and the truth of your experience, knowing that it will be both possible and worthwhile.

You matter.  You can make a difference.  I'm so thankful you're here.