This week I was struck by the beauty of an hour's walk down on my local beach at Scarborough. There was so much to delight in, and be inspired by. So, I may dedicate a couple of mails to different aspects of the walk.

Today I want to talk about 'surfing the waves'.Scarborough enjoys some great conditions for surfers and on this occasion, there were big waves rolling in, looking spectacular in the sunshine. Surfers kept arriving.And I was fascinated to watch them.

The more experienced surfers were able to ride the waves with such ease and grace, synchronising their twisting bodies with the waves motion and often covering great distances.They clearly really understood the wave's dynamics... and the wave seemed happy to support their endeavours.Really beautiful to watch. The less experienced took tumbles much sooner, seemingly disappearing into the midst of all the turbulence of the rolling waves. I was always relieved to see them bob back to the surface again.And one surfer had a board with an electric propeller to help him along, something I'd never seen before. Seeing him on his board gliding at speed through the sea with no apparent effort was amazing.

Surfers, Scarborough. February 2026. Barbara Payman

Surfers, Scarborough. February 2026. Barbara Payman

So of course, this all led me to reflect on our different ways of navigating our 'inner waves'. Our inner waves of emotions, thoughts, body sensations, can feel very powerful at times. All of the experienced surfers I mentioned have put in hours and hours of practice into developing their skills. They too will have started with lots of 'falling off' into the waves. So, pursuing the metaphor, what is it that we need to practice to learn how to 'surf our waves’ with skill and control? Rather than tumble into their midst?

I would suggest the first of the skills we need to develop is 'mindfulness'. Standing back far enough to notice what is happening (perhaps from 'the shore'), rather than, almost unconsciously, becoming one with it.

We might then respectfully offer the wave a name e.g. 'a wave of sadness is here' or perhaps 'a wave of fear is here'. And then bring in as much loving kindness and compassion to ourselves as we can.

This week's self-kindness invitation is to let yourself be aware of any inner waves you encounter, name them if you can, and then bring in as much loving kindness to yourself as you are able to.

Go well.