It’s no secret that I am particularly drawn to music and lyrics and can find myself being inspired by them. Whether it’s a particular turn of phrase that seems magical, a sung truth that cuts to the very core, or just an idea that gets me questioning or thinking—music stays with me. For a long time, the lyrics “That was a river / this is the ocean” seemed to haunt my mind.
What better fodder for inspiration than to consider bodies of water and compare them to emotional depths?
In the song by Colin Raye, these words offer a masterclass in emotional scale. Encountering an old flame, the singer reassures his wife that his past feelings were merely a river, while his current devotion is the ocean. It’s a striking image: a river has a beginning and an end; it follows a set path. But an ocean is an ecosystem. It is deep, immeasurable, and powerful enough to reshape the very coastline of our lives.
The World of Emotional Waterways
Imagine, for a moment, a world where our internal landscapes were literal. In this reality, emotions aren’t just felt—they are quantified by volume, flow, and depth.
- The Droplet: A fleeting moment of affection, easily evaporated.
- The Brook: A light infatuation, noisy and cheerful, but shallow enough to walk through.
- The River: A serious attachment. It has a strong current and a clear direction, but it is ultimately contained by its banks.
- The Ocean: True, transformative love. It is a vast expanse where you can no longer see the shore you left behind.
In such a world, how would we talk to one another? Would we warn friends of a “flash flood” of grief? Consider the tension that arises when someone offering an “ocean” of commitment meets someone experiencing an emotional “drought.”
Creative Prompt: Map Your Current
Whether you are a writer, painter, or digital artist, use this “Hydrology of the Heart” to create something new this week.
The Challenge: Write, draw, paint, or collage something that treats emotions as waterways—measurable, navigable, and capable of reshaping the land around them. What happens when your “ocean” meets someone else’s “river”?
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