White Caps
March 19, 2025
Rogue Waves is the fourth in our Turbulent Times series. Get caught up by reading Turbulent Waters, Rip Tides, and White Caps.
This is the third story about the dangers of ocean turbulence and lessons learned. The social-political changes in our world come in waves. Even when we have braced ourselves to expect threats there is no clear timeline or clarity as to what the impact will be like. Sharing stories about survival provides us with lessons learned that may help us navigate our current reality.
A Story from Hawaii
In 2017, my wife and I spent our honeymoon in Hawaii. We found a slice of paradise in a narrow valley where the waves rise high to meet the small beach of lava rock. Instead of sand there were millions of rounded lava balls from fist sized to miniscule. They rolled and rolled under our feet, almost floating in the rushing water. The sound of the surf filled the lush green space.
I love to swim and so I dove in, and body surfed back to the beach. It was a little hard to stand because of those rolling rocks underfoot. My wife isn’t as fond of water and so she stood knee deep where she could enjoy the view and feel the cool water. Even standing still was challenging as the waves buffeted her ankles and her feet sank in those rocks. It was gorgeous, and we planned to spend a few hours there.
As visitors to Hawaii, we were warned of the danger of the ocean; we were told to never stand with our back to the water, as a rogue wave can knock you down before you see it coming. Turns out they can knock you down even when you see them coming. A series of rogue waves swept in, getting taller and taller as they were compressed by the narrow valley. The beach was all but gone. I managed to body surf in and crawl out at the tip of the wave as it tried to suck me back into the ocean. My wife was down. Every time she tried to stand up, the rocks rolled under her feet and the next wave hit. I wasn’t sure that I was strong enough to help her.
Just then, two men came running from two different directions. They looked at each other, nodded and each grabbed one of her arms and ran with her up the beach. I joined her glad that she was out of the reach of the surf. We turned to thank the men and realized that they were introducing themselves to each other. Strangers to one another, they had run to help and coordinated their efforts with a glance and a nod. As they left to rejoin their respective families, we called out our thanks. Grateful to be on solid ground, we walked uphill and admired the view out of reach of the ocean waves.
Lessons Learned
Educate yourself and make informed decisions.
If I had known a little more about rogue waves, I might have noticed that the water level was getting higher. Others had moved to higher ground, and we didn’t. At the same time there is no way to know when and how waves will arrive. To be completely safe, don’t swim in the ocean. Swimming brings me great joy, so I swim with caution. Increasing your knowledge allows you to make wiser decisions.
Do what you can when you can.
Those two strangers quickly and decisively increased our safety and well-being. I really don’t know how my wife would have gotten back to safe ground with just my help. We had a beautiful rest of our trip thanks to two men who coordinated their efforts in a moment. Strangers helping strangers is a beautiful part of humanity that I have experienced many times in my life. We need as much of that energy as we can find these days. We can all make a difference in little and big ways.
Once you are safe, learn your lesson and enjoy what you have.
Getting knocked down by waves was frightening. We made sure we were okay, thanked the men who had stepped in to help, and talked about how scary that was. Then we resolved to enjoy the beauty of the islands and the joy of being officially married. We were safe, in love, and in Hawaii. We had an increased respect for the power of the ocean and an immense gratitude for our life together.
While life has always been uncertain, the current social-political turbulence has increased uncertainty. You don’t know for sure what will change, and how it will impact your day-to-day life. Learning what you can allows you to make informed decisions that fit your priorities. Stepping in when you can to do what you can increases community safety. Learning your lesson and enjoying what you have increases your resilience, your ability to move forward. As uncertainty continues may you have community to help ground you.
Learning from your own, and others’ stories allows you to manage change in uncertain times. If you have reaction to this story, or if you have a story you would like to share, please reach out to resilience@learnmodelteach.com or use the comment section.
Peace,
Laura
