Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Shifting Tides

Spending time at the beach always causes me to reflect on the nature that the magnificent and mighty ocean offers us. The ebb and flow of the tide is one such lesson.

The tide comes in. The tide goes out. The rhythms of that cycle are not something we can alter. Every day there are two high tides and two low tides. The levels of the tides vary, but the fact that the tide comes in and goes out, never waivers.

If we count on the tide always being low - we are likely to get stranded someplace we don't want to be. We might climb onto a rock that we can walk to at low tide, only to find that we can't get off the rock when it is surrounded by the crashing surf.

If we count on the tide to be high all the time, we might find our boat beached unexpectedly on the sand when the inevitable turning of the tide comes.

To rely on something to remain constant, in a world that is always changing is foolish and futile. That is not the way our world operates!

The low tide yields the treasures of the sea. Shells and creatures wash in and are beached on the sand as the tide recedes. Some of the best beach combing (not to mention clam digging) is done at low tide.

High tide brings the dramatic surf closer to us. It is magnificent to watch and listen to. We can sometimes see more wildlife at high tide as the creatures of the sea are brought more clearly into view as they approach.

Learning to appreciate both the lows and highs in life is a key to satisfaction and happiness. There is something to be found in the low times, just like there is at low tide. High tide brings other gifts... just like a peak experience in our life.

All have value.

Learn to appreciate the lows and highs... and know that they will both come in their time and season. Trying to deny this is like trying to stop the tide!

My niece and I hanging out at the beach...enjoying the lessons of the tide.