“If the lake sees the ocean, it will want big waves! If the ocean sees the lake, it will want calm days that lasts for years!”-Mehmet Muran ildan

About a month ago on my Facebook page, I asked whether a mountain or a lake might be a better metaphor for strength. Obviously, there is no right answer to this question as they can both reflect strength in their own ways. Rather, the metaphors permit us to think more deeply. The trend was for most people who offered an opinion to say mountain with others pondering questions such as “what about an ocean?” I was grateful for the reflections.

I am currently listening to the audiobook, Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of Equanimity by Margaret Cullen. For those unfamiliar, equanimity reflects a quiet strength and composure, often in the presence of turmoil. I have touched on equanimity on my blog in the past, but certainly not as deeply as Cullen has done so in her recent book.

Cullen is clear that equanimity is not indifference or the failure to be moved. Instead, she would suggest that an equanimous people experience their feelings fully, but are not carried away by them. They are able to remain steady in the face of challenge and return to a state of calm quickly and consistently. Even in the return to calm, there is no denial of emotions or attempting to stuff them down. In 2020, I touched on the notion of ballast: “Wholehearted people have ballast. They don’t get easily blown off course when life gets tumultuous. Some call this equanimity. I think in terms of what they ‘feel,’ I would say a sense of peace. They are not overwhelmed by emotional shifts, nor are they numb to them.”

My idea of a lake as a source of strength is informed by this notion of equanimity or ballast.

Mountains are solid. Unmoving. Imperturbable. Indifferent to storms.

In contrast, lakes are softer. As we watch their surfaces, we see that they respond to their environments. Wind makes the surface choppy, but if we watch carefully, they calm again. Forgive my anthropomorphizing, but lakes allow themselves to feel, but settle back into stillness.

Whether the hardness of granite, the movement of water, or the gentle swaying of a conifer in the wind, pay attention to what nature may teach you.