I was resting at a placid lake one afternoon, after an exhilarating hike in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. I watched a bird fly over the lake, as I relaxed and enjoyed the calmness and beauty of nature around me. Something dropped from the bird’s feet and plopped into the lake, causing a ripple to start. The expanding circle mesmerized me, as if the lake woke up from its quiet slumber. The perfect geometry of the circle raced outwards without a blemish, till it reached the lake edge with symmetry and grace. Once there, it bounced back and started its journey back to the point of origin.

It took a few minutes for the effect of the forward and backward ripples to cancel each other and for the lake to return to its state of slumber.

I contrasted this observation with a different experience I had while vacationing in Goa, India a few years ago. I decided to watch the sun set and disappear in the sea, at the beach front. The same quietness of dusk and the power of the mighty ocean made me realize my humility in the bigger scheme of things. The ocean appeared restless and seemed to be on a mission to conquer the pristine stretches of beach sand. I could see wave after wave rise up and collapse on the beach sand, as if accepting the imaginary boundary that separated the two. There seemed to be an endless energy source from the ocean, which the waves drew upon as they went through their timeless routine. In the distance the ocean seemed to be quiet and tired. As the waves rose and reached the sands, there seemed to be a symphony of sounds and actions. A brief quiet pause would be followed by the same rhythmic sounds of the waves crashing on the sands, again and again.

A single ripple in a large quiet pond clearly had an impact causing visible changes around it. At the same time the waves, large in number and in spite of their constant rhythmic attack on the sandy beaches were not making any dent.

I started thinking about this experience, as I lay down on the green grass, by the placid lake. What should one strive to be in life? – A ripple in a quiet pond, OR, a wave in the mighty, noisy ocean.

My perspectives, entirely…no judgement here.

A ‘ripple in the pond’ person would be someone who believes in themselves, their abilities, in peaceful co-existence, without the need to be accepted by society. They do not need to prove anything to anybody and self-esteem is what drives them.

A ‘wave in the ocean’ person is restless, over-achieving, needs to be successful and is constantly looking for the next challenge and societal acceptance.

A ripple will always be in a pond while the wave can only be found in the ocean. They cannot survive in the other’s domain. So understand who you are – and don’t attempt to be the other.

There is no right or wrong here. We are all different and unique in our ways, and probably span across the spectrum of the ripple to the wave. The important point is recognizing who you are. We need both the ripples in the pond, the waves in the ocean; and everything in between as we journey through our infinitesimal experience on this blue planet