Essay

Part Sixteen — ebb and flow

By Garry Bassin

No one knows better than island people about ebb and flow. The ocean rises and the ocean recedes. We see it happen on a daily basis and it gives us assurance that whatever becomes low will again become high, and of course, whatever is high will again become low.

Looking at our busy lives, our businesses, our countries and the way we/they operate with little vision and little patience is sometimes a little worrisome. We all always seem to be chasing the short-range goal (quick money, quick satisfaction) and forget about what is in fact the bigger picture.

We often forget that there is a natural progression to everything. That sometimes what is happening right now is either too good or too bad for it to go on, but instead of waiting for the natural progression and succession of time, we either go too far or not far enough to change things.

Presently, in your country and in mine, we seem to be having trouble understanding what this "ebb" in our economies and our visions mean. We used to be on top of the world controlling everything, and now the balance seems to have changed. We have grown fat, lazy and blurry-eyed from years of prosperity and wonder why other countries are now beginning to show signs of surpassing us. We wonder why it's not like it used to be.

But at the same time, we seem to lack the vision to see how to change things. We no longer see things from outside the box because we are now in the box we have created. Look around and you will see that the people and industries that are flourishing, are the ones that are thinking from the outside. We all need to take a step back and re-examine our situation. Are we doing what is needed to improve things or are we just adding more weight to the problem? What can we do to allow the "flow" to return?

I am aware that one person cannot have that much affect on the world, but I do believe that the more we understand as individuals, the better we can be as a group. If each person does a little, it will add up.

We are both people who live on islands that are floating in the biggest ocean on this planet. We see and physically feel things that other land-locked people can't understand. We can look out at the open ocean and know that tomorrow there will be yet another cycle; another ebb and flow of the sea, of the moon and stars, and of our lives.

Shukan ST: July 30, 2010

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