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Sometimes the Tides are Low

Bridging Worlds

By Chris Dunmire, CurrentLiving.com

The irony about writing about “Going with the Flow” and not resisting our own creative nature — or life as it unfolds — is reflected in the days when it feels like nothing is flowing. Of course, even when it feels like nothing is flowing, it really is. Some people will tell you that all of life is energy — including humans — and that all energy has a vibrational frequency and is always moving, pulsing, vibrating, even when we’d swear it has stopped.

Some would call days like this a lull, recharging, regenerating, resting. Others might refer to it as low energy, imbalanced hormones, or depression. It could be any one or a combination of these things, or something else entirely. But one thing is for sure, the Tides are Low, perhaps life even feels numb. Motivation and enthusiasm wane.

The good news is that the Tides eventually rise again. For most people this might take a few hours or a few days. And when it does happen there is a distinct change in feeling. A reemergence is underway. Energy is higher. Moods swing upward. Passion is present. Life feels ripe and juicy again.

We are dynamic beings, but we are not machines. Our biological make-up allows us fascinating experiences of emotional highs and lows, mental trials and triumphs, creative blocks and breakthroughs. We move through life in phases and cycles.

Today while I was having lunch with my companion in a small gourmet restaurant known for its wine and culinary creations, a party of three professional young adults were seated by a nearby table for a late lunch and bottle of wine. I overheard them talking about expensive cars, fuel, and the environment. I knew how creatively free my life was, and how I left the corporate world seven years ago to follow my bliss. But I wondered about theirs. I imagined I knew what their lives were like up until this particular point of celebration, with a mid-day bottle of wine. But the truth is, I don’t know anything about their lives and what I projected onto them comes from within me. We all live this way.

As I picked the asparagus spears off of my chicken breast panini, I thought again about the “stage” of life that we are all actors on. After living a quarter of a century acting out a role that was never really mine, I’ve spent the last decade resisting falling mindlessly into archetype roles just to fit in.

I looked around the bistro and thought it would be the perfect place to spend a quiet afternoon alone with a bottomless cup of coffee, a good writing pen, and my journal. Another archetype, the artist/writer working in solitude. At least I choose that. And I will go back there one day and remember the asparagus that tasted like fresh top-soil, in a gourmet restaurant known for good wine.

I’m wondering if it is intrinsic to the human experience that we need to live within these archetypes — at least the ones that resonate most with our authentic selves — in order to grow and understand something much larger about our purpose here, whether we think we’re in control of our own meaning-making, or if the synchronicities that befall us due to the Law of Attraction (or simply where we choose to focus our life force energy) are in charge of the wardrobe and set design.

Yes, sometimes the tides are low. And sometimes we are simply worn out by the thinking that goes on in our own minds. •

© 2007 Chris Dunmire, CurrentLiving.com. All rights reserved. (03/25/07) Please do not duplicate this article elsewhere without my permission.

About the Author | More by Chris Dunmire
Chris Dunmire is creatively engaged in life as an artist, writer, humorist, and publisher of the popular Creativity Portal Web site. She's trained as a creativity coach with Eric Maisel, Ph.D., and Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching founder Jill Badonsky. Chris develops Web-based projects and playbooks to encourage creative thinking, artistic expression, and imaginative play in people of all ages. Learn more about Chris's books at CreativeSlush.com.