The Ocean You Are

I sat on the raised platform lining and making up the queen's necklace, facing the mighty Arabian Sea. The salty oceanic breeze brushed through my dark hair ruffling them back in the wind. I felt the breeze gliding past my skin, the smooth sensation and this strange awareness that thousands of gas particles composed of Nitrogen, Oxygen, other gases and what not were literally bombarding my skin at extreme speeds and that collectively was causing the sensation I was cherishing at that moment. The concrete platform was warm due to the bright, five o'clock summer sun which was shining high up. I didn't mind the warmth seeping through my skin or the golden rays of the sun which had glazed everything else in a golden hue.

The sea captivated me, as I gazed deeper into it. Everything else slowly faded into the oblivion—the various other tourists, some private guards plodding by, the blaring horns and loud car engines in the traffic jam behind me, as well as the skyscrapers far away at the other side. I took in as much of the beauteous sea as I could, and tuned in to it as everything else grew still and tuned out.

For a moment, I became the water. I became the waves. I became the sea. I felt disconnected from the rest of the humanity, all our problems and all of my worries. Everything came to a complete stop. All background noise receded and all motion around me came to a grinding halt. Someone had definitely pressed the pause button, I thought. In that state of mind, it didn't matter to me that I was heading home after not being able to attend a lecture on dark matter, just because I hadn't brought any identification proof other than my blog links. It didn't matter that I was maybe sweating in the sun or had a long way back home with a hungry stomach. My mind slowed down and cleared as all these thoughts were lost somewhere in the mysterious expanse of the sea. I had become the sea, and the sea had nothing to worry about, and so did I.

I realized that I was mysterious and deeper than I was aware of. On the surface, I may be composed of waves of emotions, expressions, a certain body language or maybe even deadly and strong currents that may be capable of pulling in anyone careless enough to venture in too far or deep, but on most occasions, I was calm and welcoming. I had acknowledged that I had depths I hadn't known about, or that I had aquatic flora and fauna within me, I would have never imagined would have existed. My waters were treacherous at places, I had storms and cyclones too, which given enough time would surely pass and lose their momentum. Right now, I wasn't like the ocean, rather I was one.

A slight tap on my shoulder brought me back to my human body and suddenly, at once, I was aware of who I was, where I was, or what I was doing. I had all my past, present and future contemplation right in sight. As I turned back, I saw a young face—a guy in his early twenties. He had come there with his friends, two of them who were already waiting in a picturesque pose on the platform to my right.

"Can you snap our picture?"

"Yeah, sure."

I was thinking about the ocean again but this time from my human perspective. How would I explore the unknown corners, the dark depths or these new species it harnesses? Of course, I would never uncover all of them if I just sat on the concrete platform and enjoy the breeze or the sight of the sea. I would really have to step into the waters and venture where I might have never dared to. Of course, it could be risky, but then whatever I would learn about the ocean, would be worth it. I will get to know more about its wonders and mysteries it has hidden somewhere in its depths and dark corners.

Similarly, we're an ocean in some sense. If we just sit and keep waiting, we may never uncover our true depth or what all wonders do we hide. If you wish to become more self-aware, if you wish to explore all the skills you may have, all the hidden talents and skills waiting to be uncovered, then you really will have to get into the water, or better step out of your comfort zone. The longer you stay in there, the longer will you stunt your growth. You do possess so many more skills and talents, but only if you explore them, will you know. Of course, it will be difficult in the beginning, maybe uncomfortable too but unless you try it out and give it some time to explore, you'll never know.

Maybe you have that gene of a great speaker, but if you always hesitate to go on a stage to speak, you'll never know that, and that gene will stay deactivated for long. However, you may go on the stage and try speaking, even if it feels uncomfortable, even if you screw it up for the first time. Gradually, you will get a grip on it. Your brain perceives giving a speech as something that can endanger your life and triggers the Flight, Fright, or Fight response and adrenaline and cortisol are pumped into your bloodstream to prepare you to flee the situation. That's what causes the dry throat, or the anxiety. What you need to do is: do it as often as you can, so that your brain realizes that giving a speech isn't as life-threatening, and consequently it may even activate your 'great-speaker' gene.

And since we are like the ocean, we are just as vast as it is. We may not know, but maybe we all possess each skill. Even you could have written this post, but you haven't as you have let your 'writer' gene stay deactivated, and I have because I have made my writing less life-threatening for myself by writing quite a lot throughout the years, to the point that my brain doesn't trigger the same responses as yours does. Sometimes, it may seem life-threatening again—just like while writing this blog post, I was really not sure what this post was going to be about. I had written the first two paragraphs and I stayed frozen and lost for about a minute or two, but after that, I just let my hands do the job and word after word flowed fluently until I hit the final publish button.

It happens and is okay. You have to recollect yourself at those times; inspiration will come and guide you ahead. You just have to have it in your head that you have to do it, and not think about the rest—believe me, you will do it and this post is the evidence itself—I did write ahead and beat my initial moment of confusion. The next post I'll write, I'll be more than likely to prevent this from happening again, because I know how to deal with it now.

You have to look within yourself, explore your dark corners and depths, and acknowledge your storms and waves. You are one mighty ocean yourself and you too have so much hiding in the waters that you don't yet know. Get out of your comfort zone and give things time and stick to your decision to continue it till the end.