This author evokes an image of the ocean with it’s turbulent surface and its unsearchable depths. The full article draws a contrast between the external causes and the internal reasons that lead people to commit tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombing.
The attempt to psychologize everything tends to result in an emphasis on the causes of a person’s action. But people act not just as a result of causes (mental illness, depression, drugs, etc.); they act for reasons. And those reasons do not fail to reveal important things about the person’s view of the world, including his or her beliefs, no matter how splintered or convoluted, about God, about human beings, about life’s mission, about the nature of happiness, about his or her own place in the universe.
The contemporary world is marred by the terrible habit of neglecting the importance of beliefs. Because we exist on the rushed and distracted surface of life’s waters, we have neglected and forgotten about the depths below. We are more pragmatic and short-term in our approach to life’s problems than those who came before us. And it hasn’t served us well in times of crisis.
via The question that never gets answered: What is wrong with people? | Parchment and Pen.
The ocean metaphor reminds me of similar imagery used by David Wilcox in his song Underneath. That link has lyrics and a button to play the song for free.