Navigating the River of Me

“Beginning well is a momentary thing; finishing well is a lifelong thing.” Ravi Zacharias (1946–2020)

I stand on the shoreline, before the 'River of Me.'

Watching my emotions ebb and flow like a changing sea.

Joy skips through like a stone, causing ripples of smiles, while sadness moves slowly as molasses, lingering for miles.

Anger bursts through the gates, wild rapids crashing about!

Fear floods in a cold, dark wave, seeking to drown my doubt.

In my youth, I was tossed and turned by this emotional tide.

I know when I might take an unpredictable ride.

I remember when sadness soaked me in my dark abyss, nearly pulling me under to a cold and watery grave.

“I was at the mercy of this emotional hurricane, spinning and spinning until I made myself sick.”

But Joy fished me out with her glow, warming me in the sun, though Anger still knocked me over if I failed to outrun it.

Over time, I learned the nature of this river and that the currents and rapids no longer control the sea.

I wade in with mindfulness, breathing a steady breath; I flow with tides instead of fighting ’til an exhausted death.

Now that I swim in these emotional waters with some grace, I welcome all feelings while still setting my own pace.

Like a lighthouse, I shine a steady beacon in the dark, guiding my heart through sorrow and other emotional sparks.

“Emotional mastery is learning that we have the power to guide our ships to safe harbors.”

This 'River of Me,' with its joy and fear, anger and pain,

Is simply the landscape across my soul’s terrain.

As the tides come and go, I greet them with patient arms. I know inner peace awaits beyond life’s storms.

©Marie Grace, Ph.D.

References

Zacharias, R. (2005). I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah: Moving from Romance to Lasting Love. Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Author’s note

I remember those teenage years all too well—when every emotion felt like a raging storm, I was powerless against it. Happiness was a brief glow of sun between angry clouds. Sadness could drench me for weeks like a relentless downpour. Anger erupted like crashing lightning, and fear shook me like thunder rumbling through my core. I was at the mercy of this emotional hurricane, spinning and spinning until I made myself sick.

But eventually, the clouds parted here and there. I noticed Joy still found a way to skip through the puddles left by the rain. Bit by bit, the storms didn’t seem so loud anymore. I learned to bundle up in patience and self-care when sadness swept through. I found firm footing in kindness when anger stormed. And though fear still shook me at times with its cold winds, I wrapped myself in the warmth of compassion—a flickering flame in my heart that no darkness could snuff out.

Now, when emotional storms rage through me, I’ve built a lighthouse to guide my way. With mindful breaths, I shine my inner beacon through it all. This too shall pass, I remind myself. And emerge again I do, on the shores of my own being—bedraggled but grinning, empowered with hard-won peace. We all weather inner storms as we grow. But emotional mastery is learning that we have the power to guide our ships to safe harbors where we can wait out torrents from a place of grace.

Originally published in medium.com (February, 2024)