Be or do...

Ever have the unfortunate experience of being caught in a rip tide?  For those of you that frequent or live nearby our coastal oceans you know what I'm talking about.  It's that ever so subtle phenomenon where the ocean current pulls you away from the shore.  It's a scary and dangerous situation to be in, to be sure.

You usually don't know you're in a rip tide until you start to realize you're drifting farther away from shore.  For the inexperienced, when that realization occurs, panic sets in and the hapless swimmer will try frantically to swim back to shore, usually with tragic results.  Every lifeguard will tell you the best thing to do when caught in a rip tide is to just relax, go with flow and ever so gently work your way along the shore until you're no longer in the current and can then safely swim back.  That seems to go against our instincts towards survival.  When situations seem their most desperate we put up the greatest fight but that fight can exhaust us and ultimately lead to our demise.

Eckhart Tolle has written several books on the concept of being "in the now".  We all tend to worry about tomorrow, about situations we can't control.  We fail to realize where we are in the moment and struggle to reach a shore that's, at this time, unreachable.  We need to be able to flow with our circumstances and allow events to play out while ever so calmly and gently influencing our environment to where we are no longer caught in that "rip tide", in a desperate struggle to save ourselves, whether physically, mentally or spiritually.  This takes a real act of faith and unfortunately faith is something so many people lack these days.

I have no great words of wisdom about how to retain faith.  It's just something you have.  It's not to say that I don't waver from time to time.  Trust me, I have my moments.  I guess it's just a realization deep down that tells me there IS a way out of my current predicament and some times I just need to ride things out instead of fighting.

You may feel desperate, unsure, alone, or frightened but that's ok.  You don't always have to have the answers.  Your life doesn't always have to have a clear path.  Remember life is a journey and we have to expect rough, fearful valleys to go along with those glorious peaks.  When life appears chaotic, let it go.  Allow the storm to swirl around your calm.

The waters will rise and they're recede.  Clarity will overcome uncertainty.  Joy always comes on the heals of despair.  Remember this too shall pass and the sun will shine upon you again.

Have faith....