Riding the Wave of Change Like a Surfing Puppy

The razor edge between being and doing, joy and fear, control and letting go

Do you recognize yourself in this puppy, surfing on the edge between excitement and fear? Do you find yourself walking through that knife edge between joy and grief, hope and hopelessness, control and letting go in everyday life?

As we navigate through this knife edge, we are cultivating a fluid state of being, an active participation of life while maintaining one’s center and integrity. That’s when we ride the wave of change like a surfer.

Have you felt a tension between being and doing, between who you are innately and what the society pressures you to do to make a living or make an impression?

I always feel a bit of block when people ask: Spring, what do you for work?

In the dominant culture, work is often a label that we fit ourselves into to facilitate monetary exchange. I juggled with many labels in my career: leadership coach, singer and songwriter, voice mentor, trainer in cultural sensitivity, improvisational artist, acupuncturist, Tai Chi teacher, scientist, author …

While all these labels allow me to participate in the economical exchange, none of these labels can really define the work I do.

The truth is I am a surfer of the Tao.  At the core of the Tao is a state of being, an essence of who we are that is connected with the web of life, and a pulse that is in sync with the Great Flow around us.

Everyone is born connected with this essence and pulse. Yet the story we tell about who we are, the labels we make from a mindset stuck in the industrial-capitalistic complex can alienate us from this essence and pulse.

Being is a state in the flow, not just passive, or pure bliss in the isolation of retreat center or meditation cushion, although that is certainly part of it. I find the mainstream western interpretation of eastern spiritual practices often misses something more essential and alive than meditation retreats catered to rich people with disposable incomes.

In its native context, the eastern spiritual practices are very much embedded with the flow of everyday life, from mundane things such as purchasing and selling houses, cleaning the yard, drinking the tea, to serious things such as business transactions and even politics …

In Chinese, we have a saying. “Beginner hermits live in the mountain. Intermediate hermit are active in the market places. Advanced hermits advise the king.” 小隐隐于山，中隐隐于市，大隐隐于朝。

This saying implies that when someone is so grounded in the center of their being, they can go out into the world and become an influence of integrity and wisdom even in places that tend to be subjected to greed or corruptive power, such as marketplace or “king’s court”.

The fluid state of being is synchronized actions in response to the changing social tides. Someone in this state of being is more like a surfer navigating waves. A surfer maintains her center of stillness, while being in exquisite relationship with the changing tides around her.

What would a culture look like when we center our lives from this fluid place of Being, rather than excessive doing, consuming and performative actions? What would a culture look like when people widen the practice of being into conversations, This is a cutting edge of our human evolution. I want to find out. I know in my bones that it is the purpose of my life as this incarnation.

On this journey, I have met many people in all walks of life who are propelled to weave a new culture that foregrounds relationship, harmony, wellness and diversity. This is not easy, as we often need to swim against the inertia of the old system that focuses on competition, extraction of resources and maximization of profits while sacrificing relationship.

Sometime I am wondering how long I can last paddling against the tides. But then most of the days, I feel like this puppy on the surf board, paws glued to my board, eyes fixed in the distance, with a wide grin and water splashing all around, I am surfing the wave of changes!