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When I was fourteen years old, I went to California with a group of kids my age. We went to Santa Monica Beach to see the ocean. None of us had been there before so this was a real treat for us. When we got there, we decided to try bodysurfing. We saw others doing it and it looked fun and much less difficult than regular surfing. Soon we learned how it was done and found ourselves out in the water preparing for the waves to come our way.
When a large wave approached, I started swimming as hard as I could hoping to time it perfectly. I found myself riding the wave in toward the shore. Suddenly, the wave pulled me down, headfirst into the sand under the water. I hit with a strong force, but I was okay. I gathered myself and came up for air only to have another wave pound me again. Down I went to the ocean floor. I lost all control. The only thought that came to my mind was that I needed to get above the water to get some air. I struggled and finally made it to the surface. Gasping for air, another wave knocked me off my feet and sent me quickly back down to the sandy sea floor.
This struggle with the sea lasted two more waves. At that point, my energy was spent. Fortunately, the waves had pulled me close enough to the shore where my friends, who saw what was happening, quickly dragged me to safety. I rested for quite some time until I regained sufficient strength to go back out into the ocean.
When people tell me about their days and about how they spend their time, it sounds a lot like my experience that day in the ocean. Wave after wave of stressful events knock them off their feet. They are barely able to come up for air when another “wave” hits them. Soon, they (more…)