Swimming With the Tide

For the reader who feels life has little meaning, Swimming With the Tide may be just the right anecdote that life is worth living. Authored by Earl Getz, a retired high school teacher, the book is comprised of twenty-one essays dealing with many aspects of everyday living. The book contains much useful information on improving on one's own life in a world growing more complex by the day. In spite of life's complexities, the author sees grounds for optimism. Steps can be taken to make life a little easier and less stressful. The constant changes we witness around us need not be looked upon as threats, but rather as challenges. It is an excellent book for people who feel they are not living up to their full potential.

The author stresses that each of us writes our own script. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy by dwelling on the past for the way we turned out, or to blame others. The trials of life are far less important than how one deals with them. The author warns that making a hitching post out of the past, is like the driver who constantly looks through the rear-view mirror instead of keeping his eyes on the road. We should not be tempted to dwell on the past, either with yearning or regret. It does little good to plague ourselves with the miserable old mirage called 'might have been.' It only produces negative thoughts.

The author stresses the importance of God in an individual's life, and therein can be found many of the answers. The book differs from other self-help books that blame failings on others. Rather than sanction blame-shifting and eroded responsibility, what this book does is to focus more on resilience and self-pride. The reader is encouraged to take responsibility for his or her own life. It offers the reader a starting point to make life livable and less complicated.

The author writes about the complexities of everyday living and how this leads to stressful living. Paramount is the overall tensions of living. Like some sort of emotional virus, the tight knot of tension seems to have infected the minds and bodies of millions of people today. In the mist of all the pressures of modern living, the author offers many suggestions for a simplified life style and how to take daily living in stride. He readily points out there are no simple solutions to a simpler life. However, the task is to sort out what is important in life and then work toward that goal and believe in ourselves. All of us have greatness in us and skills we may not even be aware we have.

The author does not attempt to use big words or clever phrases. It consists of 132 pages and makes for easy reading. It contains much useful information on improving one's life, be it for the professional person, or the average reader.