Fable of the Man Who Stepped into the Ocean

author’s note:

Going with the flow is scary.


FABLE OF THE MAN WHO STEPPED INTO THE OCEAN

He shivered in a cave by the beach

just as he’d done as a child
and like that child, he felt ashamed
of the way he trembled

at the sight
of those broad gray-green waters outside:
a mad field of indomitable waves
spread all the way to a slate horizon.

But in the exhaustion of his fear
he went into a semi-sleep
and dreamt he was
a small child finally deciding to take
one step forward toward the water.

But education can be brutal
even when we’re careful:

as soon as he’d planted his foot
a monstrous wave abruptly rose up
and swept him in--
suddenly he found himself far from shore
choking on hard cold bitter water.

But in the dream
the child knew
only an adult could save him
and since he was alone
he knew he must become that adult.

Then as an adult, he realized
you can’t fight or escape a force
of such great power--
what you must do requires
a wise courage:
instead of struggling
you must open yourself and roll
with the rolling waves:

And so he lay back
and spread arms and legs out.
Through chattering teeth, he told himself:
“I know I can not kill my fear
 but I can create a safe distance
 by watching it
 with the meditative curiosity
 of an old Buddha cat.”

In the dream, he then looked down
to see himself far below
as a little bitty cork
bobbing bravely on an immense heaving sea
and realized
he couldn’t sink.

Having done what he needed to do
in the dream
our hero then awoke

and walked out of the cave
toward the shoreline.

Approaching that gray-green glory
he felt so small
yet also felt stronger than ever

and though he cried
the man no longer cried
the tears of a child.

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© 2022, Michael R. Patton