Being thrown in the deep end can go a couple different ways. It can be a negative thing – to be stranded and tossed aside by someone in a situation where you are vulnerable and weak, but it can also mean to be pushed to your limits and taken out of your comfort zone to succeed. Personally, I prefer the latter. If I wanted to refer to being betrayed or left for dead, I can think of a couple other more creative sayings that get the point across.

Now, the actual point is that you can only swim if you are not standing, and having the floor just inches beneath you does nothing to help you in the long run. You have to fail until you’re able to succeed and swim alone in waters meant for it. The shallow end was made for children who wanted the experience with none of the pain, and people fool themselves by thinking they can “swim” there. Siddhartha learned this towards the end of the story, realizing that he could not continue to shelter his son forever, and would eventually have to let him sink and flail in order for him to learn how to swim.

Experience is a huge part of life, and it often comes in the form of mistakes and failure. But if the floor is barely brushing your feet, then how much experience are you really getting? Maybe you can find yourself underneath the water, but how far can you get? The lesson I learned was the let go, and to let yourself be weak and vulnerable because that is how you will learn to be strong, and eventually swim.