Trigger Question #170:
Years ago, a client said to me that her use of the word “surfacing” has been overly optimistic because it has felt more like she has been “submerging.”
Yes, we do like using the term surfacing to mean that things are finally improving, that we will soon be able to breathe again. I could mix things up by saying we surface to see light at the end of the tunnel.
But consider this. Sometimes surfacing is bad and submerging is good.
Let’s examine those two words. We use surfacing to explain we have come up, emerged, broken through, materialized, come to light, and so on. And we use surface when we mean the exterior area, covering, peel, skin, or even to mean shallow and superficial. Got that?
What if we think of surfacing differently? What if surfacing means touching surfaces?
Now when we surface, it means we are touching surfaces, too many surfaces. We are interacting with too many people, involved in too many projects or enamored with too many events or things. And when we touch too many aspects of our lives, then we stay on the surface.
Because we are surfacing, we cannot go deep. Yet, deep is where meaning lies.
When you surface (in the traditional meaning of the usage), then you should wonder. Do you feel relieved because this is a respite? Or because you prefer to be in the shallows?
If this is just a respite, then relax and enjoy the moment. And if you choose to stay in the shallows, then remember this. Life has a habit of tweaking the trivial until we willingly embrace the profound.
Enjoy the superficial while you can, because sooner rather than later, you will go deep again. Deep enough to find meaning. Whether or not you choose to.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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Quote of the Moment:
“I should have gone deep, but the shallows were more fun.” The Chief Nonsense Officer.
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