Leaving the Surface Behind

A few days ago I received my official Guinness WR Certificate and it goes straight to the pool room! Most Aussies know what this expression means. The idiom comes from the 1997 Australian iconic movie, The Castle in which the dad, says of gifts such as 'a samurai-sword letter opener' that 'this is going straight to the pool room', suggesting it is so wonderful that it should be preserved as a trophy.

Indeed, the Guinness WR Certificate is a trophy that can’t be bought but has to be earned. Only I know the value it holds - the struggles, challenges, and the thousands of kilometres I covered underwater it took to achieve this recognition. I’m grateful to all the people that believed in me along the way. Now the question arises - what’s next?

Standing on the mountain top, I am present, enjoying the view, yet I can see other mountains in the distance. Depth awaits. Soon, I'll experience the tight embrace of the ocean, learning new skills, exploring further, and letting go of the surface. As Bruce Lee famously said, "Be like water."

Diving deep into the ocean and diving deep into myself, I close my eyes and free-fall. At first, I sit on the shore, watching the waves dance on the ocean's surface. Later, I find myself beneath the water, in the calm, still depths, observing the waves above as they move and play. Eventually, I realise that I'm not separate from the water or the waves – I am the water.

Waves may cause chaos on the surface, or in a very small part of the vast ocean, but most of the ocean is unimaginably spacious, calm, and deep. So too is our mind. And the only way to find out is to surrender.