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The sea moves slowly and steadily toward the beach. Wave after wave arrives with a peaceful rhythm from the distant horizons. They bring echoes of an infinity of interference and the unknown winds of the world. The waves approach the gently shallowing beach with a calm posture and a distinct shape, only to crumble down as the previous wave withdraws underneath the new one. The soft sound of a crashing wave fills the air each time this withdrawal and arrival happens. As the sound gradually fades, a new one arises, producing a steadily shifting background noise. No wave seems entirely the same as the others, though they are highly similar as happenings. Each of them is a unique piece of nature, proceeding at its own pace and crashing into the rocky beach with calm grandeur.

As one stands on the beach, sincere attention to each wave reveals inner spaciousness. In this space, one can breathe with freedom; in this freedom, fresh air is available moment after another. Softly and silently, one disappears into the surrounding world, where the whole existence consists only of the solid rocks under the feet, the scent of the foaming sea, the light wind slowly blowing through the trees nearby, and the sounds of the waves arriving at the shore. Nothing else exists but the pure experience of all these things. One is entirely devoid of thoughts and inner movements. This state of being is not intentionally meditative but a spontaneously unveiled experience of existence as it is.

The rhythm of the waves makes one wonder: Is it possible to constantly live in such a state where every arriving wave is fresh and unique? Is it possible to greet every crashing wave with a warm and wholehearted welcome, as if it were the expression of the whole existence? What could be more important than to live one's life in such a state? To simply greet life as it comes, moment by moment, wave after wave. After all, human beings are very much like the waves arriving at the shore.

We come from distant horizons. Such distances cannot be seen with eyes; their elusive reaches go far beyond all rational knowledge. Imagination can only scratch the surface of those distances. Ultimately, we don't know the horizons we're coming from. Only some vague, speciously real memories color our evening skies with beautiful hues of the setting sun. We, human beings, billow forward steadily with an in-built momentum across the great seas, often interfering with other waves and sometimes becoming profoundly changed by the prevailing winds. And always, when interference happens, or the winds blow, there's noise. Our lives are often full of sound and fury, amplified by the proximity of a shallowing beach. After the wave meets the beach, there's silence. Silence very similar to the distant horizons from where we initially appeared.

So, is it possible to flow through life with profound calmness, not shaken by excessive thought activity? As one listens to the waves' rhythm on the beach, the answer is evident: it's not only possible, but one's essential nature to be so. To meet all interference, the winds of the world, and the last crashing of the wave with calm grandeur. To hear all noise as simply changes of conditions following their own rhythm. To wholeheartedly welcome all inner movements with compassionate acceptance. To simply be with it all, not demanding things to change, like the sea needs not the waves to change.

The Dusk Hour

The Sands of Time

Homeward Bound

Scattering Lights

An Inquiry Into Reality Book Preview

See all posts from Jussi Niittyviita