This cliché originated, I believe, as a description of tidal behavior. Webster includes the following two definitions:
- Ebb – the reflux of the tide toward the sea
- Flow – RISE
Another version of ebb is “a point or condition of decline .” I used the term last night with Megan who’s been suffering an ebb in her spirit for a little while. While I didn’t know what, if anything, was causing adversity in her life, I knew she needed some help, or “the same old schpiel” as she lovingly refers to it. Attempting to paint a picture of the tides of life, the advice was/is to keep swimming… to keep balanced as she rides the waves that inevitably ebb and flow. Sometimes we don’t know why we rise and fall, but there are basics we need to do to stay afloat… learn… work… parent… listen… love.
Today I discovered the forces pulling her down. Time to parent… listen… love… persevere…
“Here by the sea and sandNothing ever goes as planned”
Pete Townshend – “Sea and Sand” from Quadrophenia
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-M.