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Written Waves

- When the Water Is Too Calm -

by Bert Russell

Date: 7/3/2026 @ 11:26 PM

It was Friday before the Fourth of July weekend, and something felt off.

I had the day off.

That shouldn't have seemed strange, but it did. The post office was still delivering mail. Banks had adjusted their schedules. Businesses were open, while others had already closed. Everything was just a little different than what my mind expected.

I found myself trying to make sense of it.

Is today a workday? Is it a holiday? Why is this place open while that one is closed?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't the schedule that bothered me. It was the interruption of a pattern.

Our minds become comfortable with routines. We stop questioning them because they become part of the current that carries us through the week.

Paddle boarding teaches a similar lesson.

Most people think the challenge comes from the rough water. It doesn't.

The strange feeling comes when the water is almost perfectly calm.

Without waves, wind, or current, your brain loses many of the reference points it normally uses to stay balanced. Every tiny movement becomes noticeable. Every shift of your weight feels larger than it really is. You begin making corrections that aren't necessary, and sometimes those unnecessary corrections are what cause you to lose your balance.

Life works the same way.

When our normal routine changes—even for something as simple as a holiday weekend—we start looking for reasons. We question things that usually don't deserve our attention. We become uncomfortable, not because anything is wrong, but because our expectations no longer match reality.

The best paddle boarders don't fight every little movement beneath their feet.

They relax.

They trust the board.

They let their body adapt to the conditions instead of forcing the water to behave the way they expected.

Maybe that's the lesson this Fourth of July weekend gave me.

Not every unexpected day needs an explanation.

Sometimes life simply reminds us that our routines are only routines because we've become accustomed to them. Change isn't always a warning. Sometimes it's just a different current carrying us in the same direction.

So whether you're standing on a paddle board or standing in line wondering why today feels different, remember this:

Balance doesn't come from everything staying the same.

Balance comes from learning to stand steady when it doesn't.