Tides

Tide - Noun: the alternate rising and falling of the surface of the ocean and of water bodies connected with the ocean that occurs usually twice a day and is the result of differing gravitational forces exerted at different parts of the earth by another body

Tides are a hell of a thing. Surfers, clammers, commercial shipping; they all depend on them. They come and go with regularity. They happen everyday. The Earth gets stretched by her neighbors like a superball. Even better: tides connect Earth to the cosmos on the ground floor. Astrology fans would probably be better served by looking to the water than the skies. It is closer, it is tangible and visceral and real. You can see the heavens at work by watching the ebb and flow at a shoreline. Tides do more than touch the skies, they bring things and take them away.

And so it is no wonder that life too is tidal. Things go away. People leave, they die in wrecks or or overdose. Jobs end, transmissions fail, clutches burn out, a favorite shirt will tear, guitar strings rust.

But things come back. Old friends talk, a fresh pair of boots is hard to beat, you can find a box of old pictures or an old pair of jeans with twenty bucks in it. A favorite cousin can leave this world a precious little girl who looks just like her. You can hit 13 and 26 and 28 all in a row and be back in the game. Sometimes it's you who gets the picture cards and not the dealer.

Life is full of tides. Maybe they don't always come twice a day for you but they are momentum, they are alive and dynamic. Movement means you're alive and not a rock. So whenever possible, ride the tides.