Droughts & Monsoons

If life is a river, then it sure has unpredictable flood seasons. Has anyone else ever noticed (or is it just me) that life doesn't really flow along - it spurts like a psychotic garden hose connected to a gammy pump. There are some times when it's interminably sluggish, and others when it's a mission just to keep from wetting yourself. Erm. . . metaphorically speaking. And you can never plan or adjust for it. When things are trundling along at snails pace it's difficult/impossible to take advantage of the slack to lessen the frantic times ahead. Because you can't see them coming, and only a seer could trace their origins. As for when they come - forget trying to strategize. Most of the time you're just trying to hang on and not fall off. Life seems to be a string of droughts and monsoons.
I wonder if there's a reason for this. I believe there's is a reason for almost everything (and with all due respect, Douglas Adams can stick his randomness theories up his nose); I don't think this would be one of the exceptions. Here's my guesses. Theory #1: This is not as universal as I think it is, and is just a product of my unique circumstances. (Possible but unlikely - I know too many others who've experienced the same). Theory #2: Someone's just messing with us for the hang of it (I know, burn him at the stake - but haven't you ever, even for a moment, been tempted to think it?). Theory #3: The ebb and flow of the circumstances of humanity is somehow widely networked so that when one thing goes off, a dozen others follow the leader (Esoteric, but possibly not impossible). Theory #4: There is something big and very obvious that I have completely missed, and my readers are scanning this post with heads cocked sideways eyes squinted and mouths slightly open wondering exactly how stupid I really am (Painfully likely).