Thursday, March 11, 2010

Time and Tide


Nothing lasts forever, for the only constant thing is change.

We have no command over the ebbs and flows of the tides any more than we can command the moon to cease its pull on them.

I have never been King Canute, ordering the sea to obey his commands only to realize the limits of his own powers. If anything, I have always been keenly aware of my own strengths and weaknesses, and the insignificance of both when set against the oceanic expanse of fate.

My natural instinct has always been to go with the flow - a predisposition that has yielded mixed results. On one hand, letting the current take me where it wishes has led to a life of serendipitous blessings. On the other, when the winds die down, I am left stranded treading in the doldrums.

But doldrums are far preferable to maelstroms, and I have been swept into the middle of one.

It is curious that I find myself battling the waves this time around. Not all fish swim serenely with the ocean currents. Salmon die as they flop and flail their way upstream, back to the place of their birth, where their instincts dictate that they return and spawn the next generation.

Why do we so defiantly fight the currents? Far easier to go with the flow, as usual.

Perhaps it is because as we grow older, we recognize that for all its great beauty and treasures, the deep blue sea holds a great many terrors as well. And therefore shallows become calm oases, safe harbors from the many predators lurking in the deep.

But opposing currents have converged and once caught in them, there is really no choice but to spin with the vortex.

So let's spin to the ocean floor.

Crash to the other shore.

14 comments:

  1. just like the ocean


    the post


    it's deep. =P

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  2. I like how you were able, quite convincingly and effectively, to describe the tribulations of existence with the unbridled dynamics of the sea. Graphic and profound.

    The metaphors crisp. And the conclusive line, hits me like a tidal blast across the barren corniche. For there is no other way to experience life than to embrace its anarchic spiral head-on, and to always, by our capacity, bring it back to the sense of shore. Home.

    Great post, rudeboy.

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  3. i wish the sea were calmer but we all know that's not so likely. i rarely see u this way. i'm reminded of how deep you truly are.

    oh and i had a terrible nightmare and u were in it. i woke up short of breath and in tears. freaky. psychologist friend says u had nothing to do with it, tho. *phew*

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  4. You're a fish, you will survive. =)

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  5. When we learn to accept change, that's the only time that we can call ourselves "mature"

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  6. deep, indeed.
    i would have to agree with menthos' statement. it's when u learn to accept that nothing is permanent that u learn to be mature. strange, but true--change is the only constant thing.

    at the very least, we've got memories. when nothing is constant, memories keep us going. ^__^

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  7. whatever is happening in your life, im just here.

    hindi ko kasi maintindihan ang post mo.:)

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  8. i like challenging the sea despite not knowing how to swim. I'd drown, I know that. But being a bitch does make it more fun :)

    p.s. ooh. Pirates of the Caribbean @ 2nd picture.

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  9. @ Herbs : At World's End sounds like a fitting title right about now. Oh, and welcome back. I missed you.

    @ Ming : It's not a riddle, Ming, but thank you. I'm happy the changes in your life seem to be very positive thus far :)

    @ Cris Virgil & Menthos : What was that prayer again? "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

    @ joel : I truly appreciate your words of reassurance. It's just that right now, there's a good part of me that's just not willing to accept and settle for survival.

    @ SAM : Would that I could remain shallow all the time. Life is just easier that way.

    @ Nyl : I am most curious to hear about this nightmare. Did I appear with my signature saber, or was it just some vague representation?

    @ red : The treacherous undertow is one reason I never venture too far from shore IRL. But rogue waves come and I have been swept out to sea.

    @ engel : When - if - things get better, I shall be my usual shallow self again. Till then, I shall be in over my head.

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  10. you didn't have your saber. u had a pair of scissors and a broken neon green glow stick. lol u managed to use both in a very devious manner.

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  11. @ Nyl : Thank you, Clarice errr Nyl.

    But seriously - scissors. How very Dead Again.

    As for the broken neon green glowstick and what "we" did with it, I think I shall leave that to my fevered imagination.

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  12. i can send u the sound file i recorded after. it's a little disturbing though. very the fourth kind and stuff. haha plus halfway through, it gets corrupted.

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  13. if you cant beat them join them LOL

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