Still waters run deep - life lessons from Loch Ness

byGail-UK

3.1K followers

4 years ago

Hello again WA family. It's been a while since my last post, but that's OK.

Just wanted to check in again with everyone with a simple thought for the day since I'm currently on a short break to the amazing Scottish Highlands and I am staying on the shores of Loch Ness.

The phrase "Still waters run deep" is very apt when talking about this famous loch since its chilly, black waters run to a very deep 227m, so plenty of room to hide a few monsters!

However, when applied to humans, the phrase is equally true I feel. I have never really thought of myself as a 'shallow' kind of person, but recently, during lockdown, I've had a lot more time to think than usual and I've begun to wonder how 'deep' I can really be. To be honest, I have really enjoyed the enforced peace - quiet roads, no where to go in the evenings and weekends, and more time at home with my family and my thoughts. It's been enlightening.

I've decided (like many of us I expect) that I don't want to return to my previous 'normal' pace of life; hurtling around from this to that with nothing more to gain from it than the knowledge that I've done it. Did I really enjoy it though? Whatever 'it' was. Well, that's the million dollar question.

And the answer I now know, is, "No - I didn't".

Sure, I did a lot of 'things', clocked up a lot of miles on the car, but if you ask me if I really enjoyed that pace of life, I'd have said then, "Of course - it's what I do". But having had time to stop and reflect a bit, I think a better answer would have been - "Not sure - it's the only thing I know."

But things change, and I believe they will change for the better.

We are all perhaps a little wiser now; a bit more humble and a bit more appreciative of the simple things in life. We realise that life can still function if we don't have to commute into the office; children will benefit from seeing their parents a little more at home; and individuals can reconnect to who they truly are if they give themselves a chance to stop and listen.

I'm a teacher who is getting ready to return to school in the 'new normal'. But for me, things will never be the same again, since I have reclaimed a little of what it is important to me and I'm going to learn the lessons of lockdown. And staring out at the beautiful waters of Loch Ness (monster or no monster) is something I vow to do a lot more of in the future.

What about you?