Face Your Anticlines and Synclines

Dear loving people,

For those of you who have a grounding in geology like I do, you must have read about anticlines and synclines. Now, whether you did geology or not, in what we call structural geology, Anticlines and synclines are the up and down folds that usually occur together and are caused by compressional stress. Specifically, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core whereas a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure and convex down. You can remember the difference by noting that anticlines form an “A” shape, and synclines form the bottom of an “S.” 

I took you into this geological class not to worry your brains with details but rather so you can see how nature epitomizes the human condition perfectly. You must have hear or read about the ups and downs people go through daily. Do you see the similarity with anticlines (ups) and Synclines (downs)? Great! Stay on…“Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It's a journey of discovery - there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair.” Says Rick Warren.

Some days you’re up that is at your anticline. You’re in tune with the universe, your life is flowing, and the present moment makes sense. And other days you’re down at your syncline. You might be in an emotional mood—because you’re tired, you received bad news, or maybe you just can’t access your sense of purpose. It happens. But we are not our emotions…and as conscious humans, we actually have the power to manage them (and their fluctuations). We may forget this, but it’s true.

In the world of work, Deepika Padukone says “I feel ups and downs are a part of one's career, and this totally depends on how you take it. You can either be knocked down by the negative things, or you can take it in a positive way and learn from it.”

You must remember at all times that life is a journey, not a destination. Know that everything happens for a reason; maybe we're just meant to learn a lesson from all the bad situations that are going on, or maybe it's there to make us realize something big that we couldn't see earlier. You see when I thought about writing this article, I contemplated on why I wanted to write about it, and it became clear to me that the essence of the analogy is that we are forever riding the ups and downs of life, and that sometimes when the downs (synclines) get really down, we lose touch with reality. In those moments, all we need is hope and a gentle nudge to remind us that it is only temporary, and that the highs (Anticlines) are not far away.

Remember Liana Liberato’s words “Surround yourself with good people who encourage and love you. There are always ups and downs, no matter how successful you are.”