Ebbing and Waiting
This review at NPR, here, nicely notes the ebb side of flow:
“The concept of flow factors heavily into the equation. But James takes that obvious corollary and dives deep, tying the way the tides behave to the ebb and flow of ego in the creative process.”
Persisting through the ebbs, accepting them appreciatively, in good faith, is as important as the moments of peak attunement in transcending the self. That’s a key point in Ch. 4 of Surfing with Sartre (called “Flow), as a corrective to psychology’s focus on “optimal experience” and the self-help imperative to chase it. In surfing and creative pursuits, you often just patiently wait.
