shallow & deep
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Sometimes during a conversation I’ll hear, “That person is pretty shallow.” Other times I’ll hear, “That person is pretty deep.” The first one is usually a criticism, and the second one a compliment.
But I think people are like pools of water. Every pool has both a shallow end and a deep end. It’s just that some people choose to swim in the shallow ends of themselves, while others choose to swim in the deep ends of themselves.
Most of you who are reading this have probably lived over 15, 20, 25, maybe even 30 or 50 more years on this planet. Whatever your years, it’s quite a long time. During your life, most of you have probably fallen in love, and fallen out of love. You’ve probably hurt somebody before, and probably gotten hurt yourself. You’ve tried to do something before and succeeded, and other times you failed. You’ve known fear, and you’ve known courage. You’ve gained and lost, hoped and despaired. Every one of us has seen life grow, and many of you have known someone whose life has passed away. Perhaps many of you have been close to death yourselves.
So I believe you actually know a lot more about the deeper things in life than you think you know. Because everyone actually has quite a bit of life experience with regards to love, suffering, success, failure, struggle, and death. You know something about human nature because you are human nature, and everybody you know in your life is also an aspect of human nature. You know something about society because you are a part of it, and society is all around you. You know something about the way the world works because you have to live in it and live with it, and you have had to do so all the days of your life. Human drama is occurring everywhere around you, in the lives of everyone you see – and even inside you. Human desire and frustration, conflict and pain, love and meaninglessness - all of it is here and everywhere, inside you and inside me. We have all the knowledge within us to see and confirm the deeper connections that hold the shallow world together. And with every second and every breath, no matter where we are on this planet, we are accumulating a great storehouse of information, thoughts, feelings, and experiences which can be used to understand our world, our life, and our self – and to overcome the obstacles that are blocking all of us from a state of happiness. You have everything you need inside you to become the master of your own life.
But most people do not appear deep because they have not tapped into the deeper parts of themselves. Why is this so?
As with water, so with life. If you have ever gone to the beach, you already know the answer why. Most of us don’t swim in deep waters because it is more difficult, unfamiliar, tiring, and even dangerous. We swim in shallow waters because it is easy, fun, and safe – which is actually the way most of us wish our lives to be. Even though life is often neither easy, fun, or safe. For life, like the ocean, has both shallow and deep waters – and deep waters are much greater and more powerful than shallow waters. Those who would be master swimmers train in deep waters, not shallow waters – for as the deep waters present the challenges, so they offer the rewards also. So if you would master your own life, you also must not merely swim in shallow waters, but also venture into the deep.
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