Backwash

The ocean sends a wave crashing onto the shore. Most of it is absorbed in the sand; plants and plankton and creatures that live on the edge survive on the water that thus penetrates the land. And some of that water, perhaps filtered of the salt, finds it way, capillary-like, further inland, part of the complex eco-system. 

But there is an excess of the wave, and it seeps back into the ocean, carrying with it sand, silt, drift and flotsam. Until the next wave brings it back.

Backwash.

A tanker-truck gets filled with kosher glycerine, produced from a vegetable oil (the oil generally coming from coconuts or soybeans). The glycerine is used as  a food additive, sweetener, preservative.  It's used in pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

The transfer from storage unit to tanker-truck has to be carefully supervised, to make sure there's no contamination. And the amount has to be carefully measured - the shipping company, the trucking company, the manufacturer, the Department of Transportation - payment to and from is based on weight. 

But occasionally a tank gets over-filled. Some of the glycerin needs to be put back. Air is forced into the tank, which forces some of the glycerin back through the hose and into the storage unit. Of course, there is some spillage and waste; it can't be helped.

Backwash.

A child - four, five, six - starts to play with her toys. Then takes the pots and pans out of the pantry and begins to bang away. And then explores the house some more. Plaything overload and the house has the chaotic look, like the shore after the wave has crashed. The child starts to put things away, becomes overstimulated, becomes upset, can't put the toys (or pots and pans) away, and has to take a rest (psychological time-out). 

Backwash.

We,  feeling energetic, inspired, energetic, accept a new project. And then another. And another. We join a committee. And another. We become involved in a civic enterprise, deep research, a new and another undertaking, a capital venture. As students, we join too many clubs and take too many classes.

We overcommit, and have to pull back, preserve our resources, reorganize our lives, rethink our priorities. Some commitments we keep, but delay. Some we drop or abandon. Sometimes there's understanding and support, sometimes fallout and repercussions.

Backwash.

All of life has moments of backwash, which involves three elements: excess, reversal and preservation. 

Excess: File under cliches such as: Know your limits; don't seize more than you can hold, your eyes are bigger than your stomach, etc. Excess can come from greed as well as zeal. We can try to do too much or we can want too much. 

Reversal: After excess comes waste. After excess comes a recognition that things must change. An excess of words, emotions run high, we say too much. We take our words back. We are over-filled emotionally and spiritually and need to reverse, reconsider, regroup, reorganize, rearrange - return and start over.

Preserve: Reversal is not a throwing away of the excess, an abandonment, renouncing, a trashing of the excess, of our energy, involvement, commitment or understanding. Reversal preserves the initial impetus and the positive residue, the stuff - intellectual, emotional, physical - yes, even spiritual - that, if exercised and applied appropriately - in the right measure - is an effective and proper use of our abilities.

When exhausted or dejected or defeated - look for the backwash.

And prepare for the next wave, for it will surely come.