Pearls of wisdoms are one-liners of philosophy. Some time ago a tutor gave me a personal pearl of wisdom: Life is like the sea – it ebbs and flows.
We usually label change as life’s ups and downs, depending on whether we want the change or not. When I sense an impending change, I often feel very unsettled – an uncomfortable feeling.
I grew up near the mountains. When I was a kid, we spent many Sundays hiking. Those are happy childhood memories. The association of mountain climbing with the ups and downs of life is less beautiful.
Climbing a mountain is hard work. Reaching the summit takes a lot of time and effort. Only your own effort gets you there, no one can help you. Once you get to the top, you stay for a short while before returning to your normal place which is – you guessed it – down.
Ebb and Flow
Ebb and flow are recurring water movements in the oceans in regular cycles. They are the two sides of an occurrence – they belong together like the two sides of a coin. Like water, we are subject to natural rhythms of life. Any attempt to defy these rhythms is doomed to failure from the outset.
Even in times when our lives seem to stand still, change is always in progress – initially energetically before manifesting in the material world. Since it is an ongoing condition anyway, I decided to settle into permanent change instead of letting it unsettle me.
“Ebb and flow” conveys the feeling of consistency, reliability, and the reassuring feeling: Even if life may be difficult now – it will get easier again. This pearl of wisdom helps me to embrace change even when it is unwanted. Instead of ups and downs, from now on I call it the ebb and flow of life.
„All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.“ (Mother Julian of Norwich, English mystic and anchoress, around 1343 – after 1416)