God forbid I’m ever caught in a rip tide, but if I am, may God remind me how to survive it.
Sometime ago I was watching one of the news magazine programs and they talked about just that: what to do if you’re playing in the ocean and get carried away by a rip tide, or rip current. This is what I learned (and I looked it up again before writing this, so I’m confident with this information).
- First, stay calm. Easier said than done, right? But panic is not your friend, especially when you’re being swept away.
- Second, swim (or float on your back) parallel to shore until you escape the current. It doesn’t take as long as you might think or fear. People get themselves in trouble when they try to escape the current by swimming to the shore rather than parallel to it before the current breaks.
- When you’re past the current. then swim to shore or float on your back until you’re rescued.
It seems to me there should be a parallel (pun intended) to difficult times in life. I tried to write one, but it came out sounding so phony — and wrong — that I gave up. Don’t panic, roll with it, move in a counterintuitive way. That’s a solution to something other than rip tides, no doubt, but I don’t know what.
So instead I’m leaving it with this, what to do if you’re pulled into a rip current. I pray you never need this information, but if you do, I pray you remember it.
Photo © Bigstockphoto.com
My World With Words 
I think you have a great metaphorical story here, Belinda. When we fight the current – it is too strong for us. Sometimes, life sweeps us away from what feels safe and familiar. It’s good for us to remember that if we don’t fight it and go with it, at some point we can find a different pathway that leads us to safety.
I remember well my terror when I was swept away in a rip current in Hawaii. I travelled really far and finally a surfer helped lead me to a safer beach. There were waves crashing on rocks all around and that wasn’t where I wanted to go. I was very lucky.
Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you for sharing your experience!!
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There are signs posted at the beach (and in our local newspaper) on what to do if you are caught in a riptide–for tourists and locals alike! Instructions for life…..wouldn’t that be interesting.
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I couldn’t come up with anything, but there’s probably something there…trust what you know, not what you fear…sure, now I come up with it! Well, future blog post in the making.
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you found yourself in a dangerous situation!!
hi Belinda, have a nice day 🙂
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🙂
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