If you’ve ever taken that swim into the ocean, beyond the breaking waves, where you can no longer feel the ocean floor, it’s worth the experience if you know how to swim.

Sometimes I wonder, if what I’m experiencing when I’m floating freely in the water, has already been done by my ancestors, if there’s genetic memory of it. I also have a brother who took up surfing while in college, and it’s been a few years since he’s been on his board, but he also felt that calming sensation when it’s just you and the ocean around you.

As an artist, I took on the challenge of capturing that wave in my mind, and transferring it onto canvas with acrylic paint; one which lifts you high before it whips out in front of you in the shape of swirling pipe, as white mist sprays all above you and ahead to the shoreline, surrounded by rich blue skies.

That is “The Wave”. On it’s way to the shore, as another one approaches in the distance, I float there freely, in between swimming, with my face to the sun and my body stretched out, weightless. For that special moment, I’m immersed in a vast blue womb of water. I am at it’s mercy, as every worry, fear, negativity is let go, as I feel myself connected to something so much greater than myself, sustaining life in size so much greater than myself… I find this moment freeing and providing a sense of healing. I sway with the current as my legs kick out and I swim as if dancing to the beats in between sets of waves. Feeling refreshed, with the taste of salt on my lips, I emerge from the water and onto the sand a new person, as my feet trek through the sand. It is this feeling I look forward to between that one wave, and the next.

Editor: JContreras