#1240 - Your rock
Years ago, my partner and I took a boat from the isle of Ibiza to Formentera. It was a sunny day but pretty windy. From the solidity of the harbour, the sea seemed quiet; however, as soon as we stepped on the boat and began our journey, it became quickly nervous and agitated.
The more it moved away from the shore of Ibiza, the more the boat rolled and bobbed.
Almost everyone on board began to feel sick. The smiles with which we greeted each other while boarding were all gone.
One of the sailors managing the boat, a young guy in his twenties, told us, with the confidence of a consumed sailor, to stare at the rock far on our right.
It said that to reduce motion sickness, we should focus on something fixed and stable, like the shore or, in our case, some rocks visible on the horizon.
Quite desperate, we tried.
And it worked.
We stared at those rocks for the rest of the journey. Like the others, our stomachs complained throughout our destination and beyond, but we didn’t get as sick as others.
Since then, when things are agitated or I’m going through a storm, I always look for something steady and fixed to stare at. It may be an object, a place, a person or even an idea. It doesn’t matter, as long as I perceive it as a fixed point in that circumstances.
It’s a practice that helps me stay centred and present in many situations.
What is your rock?