Friday, August 2, 2019

What To Do When You're Caught in a Riptide?


It’s always recommended not to fight back if you’re caught in a rip tide. People who panic and exhaust themselves trying to buck the current are likely to drown. Those who wait it out and gradually make their way back will eventually be pulled to shore. It’s very difficult to have the faith in the fact that if you just relax and in effect give up, everything will turn out alright. In addition, there's a strong countervailing desire that almost everyone has and that must be fought in these difficult situations which makes one want to immediately remediate whatever problem that’s being experienced. Instant gratification by immediately alleviating anxiety is the name of the game. It’s a particularly popular past time among millennials who're aspirational by nature and are always aiming to meet the challenge that’s placed before them. The clogging on the ascent routes to Everest which recently resulted in many deaths is an example of this irrational refusal to shirk in the face of danger ("On Everest, Traffic Isn't Just Inconvenient. It Can Be Deadly,NYT, 5/23/19). You see the people on land who have no idea of the trouble you’re in and it may even be a matter of pride not to cry, “help!” In one sense, surrendering or giving up is the only way you’re going to survive and it may be a metaphor for a number of life situations where one is confronted with forces that are out of one's control and not susceptible to being overcome by the mere exercise of will.

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