Following the Tides

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3


This passage has haunted me, ever since High School.

“What if I miss the tide? What if my eyes are not sufficiently trained to see ebb and flow?”

Then, seeing that I had missed an outgoing tide, the debilitating self-doubts and condemnation.

“What would have happened had I taken the tide, rather than choosing to stay in the relative safety of the lagoon? IDIOT!”

“I thought—‘I must stay in the lagoon with him/her/them … I will hate myself if I go out with that tide, leaving them behind.’ Now I see the truth: I sold myself—and them—short.”

“I thought—‘I don’t feel peace about that tide … ‘ Now I realize that, as with all momentous decisions, there is some discomfort.”

“I wanted to take that tide but those I thought wiser than I told me it would lead to pain and suffering. Now? I see they had their own agendas and plans for my life: plans that made them happy, but left me longing for the tide I had missed.”

Plans, Agendas, and Expectations
It is wise to plan for the future: to craft your budget, create a map for your career path with timelines, etc. Creating strategies for getting to where you want to go is critical for success. HOWEVER –

Do you know anyone older than 40 who is exactly where he planned on being, doing what he planned on doing when he was 20? Go read books about the creation and growth of some large corporations. Note how not one of them ever created a long-term strategy that actually worked out as planned. A Tide unexpectedly arrived and … whoosh, off they went!

Markets change. Shift happens. Better ideas emerge. The Tide takes you in a direction you had not foreseen.

The challenge of plans, strategies and the agenda of others, is that they can easily place blinders on our eyes, blinders that keep us from seeing the Tide.

Of course, sometimes we see or sense the Tide we want to take, but the circumstances are such that this Tide must be taken with others—a new relationship, a different orientation for our team, an alternate route for the business. However much you are convinced that this is the right or wise course to take, if he/she/they do not agree, you can’t head out to sea. Painful? You bet. But my focus here is where the choices are yours to make.

Learning the Ways of the Tides
Discerning the Tides is an art, more than it is a science. Here we are moving in the realm of inspiration, serendipity (providence), and intuition.

Watching for the Tide of opportunity is not like following a map. There is no “Take this road for 2 miles, then turn right at that intersection …” In watching for Tides, we are looking out for signs, hints, and symbols.

The Lord whose oracle is in Delphi neither indicates clearly nor conceals but gives s sign. Heracleitus

What may a “sign” of a coming Tide look like … sound like … feel like?

Over the past year, you have felt a deep sense of frustration over your job. One day you are reading a biography and there is an incident that occurs in the story that rings a bell in you soul—there is something here for you: maybe wisdom, maybe inspiration … you aren’t sure exactly what it is, but it sticks with you.

A week later, you are having lunch with a friend who shares with you something about her life that, strangely enough, has the same ring to it as the one you heard while reading the biography. Only in this scenario, you sense that your journey is similar to hers in some way that is important, or should be anyway. She did something that was new and attractive to you … but you can't get your head around exactly what it is.

And then—a month later—you hear about a job opportunity that, up until today, you would never have considered. It isn’t on your map. Or is it? You can almost hear the crashing of the waves, smell the sea: it reminds you of the story you read, of the actions taken by your friend. And – whoosh! Off you go. Or not. It’s your choice.

No, it wasn’t on the map. No, it wasn’t part of your plans. It is the way of life, however-- the Way of the Tides.

Remember the words of St James: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.

Go ahead and make your plans. Keep in mind, however, that you do not know what tomorrow will bring. Stay open to the signs. Pay attention to your intuition. Follow the inspiration … all the way to the outgoing Tide and the open sea.

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2010