What to do when you're caught in an undertow

Some advice from the water

Never fight with an undertow.

Water always wins.

Instead?

Relax.

Or at least don’t panic.

You might even let it take you a little bit.

Don’t worry, you likely will not float across the Atlantic and end up in Portugal.

Next?

Start swimming, parallel with the beach.

Do you see waves breaking?

Is there a frothing foam of whitewater that stretches out for some time?

Go there.

If there is whitewater, it’s likely that you’ll be able to touch there.

If it looks scary but not dangerous?

Go there.

This is not advice for every undertow,

At every beach

In every situation.

What if we permitted ourselves our own undertows of character? What if we could relax into those parts of ourselves that typically cause us to panic, then look around to make a scary choice and find our footing once again?

What if, instead of fearing the undertow, we learned how it worked?

What if, our undertow was just another ride, only you could speed up the process, not by swimming against it, but going with the flow?

So,

Where does your und…