Tides flow in, pull out
People come and people go
Still, the sun will rise
Time again to say farewell… In Peace Corps people really do come and go. There is the opportunity to make so many connections, some deeper than you’ve ever experienced before, but so often the people you connect with are gone before you know it. Those in your training class, those in your region, those in your village are often gone just when you feel you’ve at last caught your breath, have at last found someone else who is grounded in the same soil, who looks in the same direction for the same reasons. They are off to different places. Some you’ve planned to see, others you know your paths will cross, for many it’s more uncertain, and some are lost for eternity, gone where you can’t reach…
The people in my life are my tides: they pull me; they flow me to feelings of flying free; they ground me. They can also leave me feeling my most alone (at no fault of theirs). That is just a fact of life: one we all must deal with, one that has pivotal power over who we become. I am thankful for that influence. Another fact of life, one that is even more crucial to comprehend, is that the sun will always rise tomorrow. No matter who has gone – those you know you will see again, or those you know you will not – another day will always come, and with it the ever-changing tides. For that, I am also thankful.
Tides flow in, pull out
People come and people go
Still, the sun will rise
marks in the sand 