What the Tide May Bring…

What the tide may bring…

“You never know what the tide may bring…” said a gentleman at my Al-Anon meeting the other day. For those that don’t know, Al-Anon is a group for family or friends of alcoholics. We utilize the same twelve steps and traditions as AA. “What the tide may bring…” this phrase opened up a vein of though for all of us and in our turn, we spoke about the meaning of the tide to us.

The tide is one of the most powerful forces on earth, with the largest bodies of water ebbing and flowing, rising and receding, every single day. Yet, as human, we somehow think that we are in control? No, what makes that water move? These forces of nature to me, seem explanatory for something so much bigger than any of us could fathom. In Al-Anon, we call this a Higher Power.

The tide may bring with it, treasures. I am a sucker for shells and sea glass. The tide simply washes them up for me and all I have to do is be open to receiving the treasure for the day. What a fantastic analogy to live by! “I wonder what the tide may bring?” Being open to whatever is washed ashore today is the way I am to live my life, with child-like wonder, eagerly seeking treasures on the shore. Not earned by something I did but bestowed to me by the Tide. Letting go of the grind, the hustle, and simply taking a walk on the beach every morning in our mind…to see what treasures we will find. Now that’s living!

What the tide may bring…sometimes, because we live in an imperfect world, the tide brings with it…garbage. That’s right, garbage. Another human’s willful or inconsiderate act of destruction. To take this analogy a bit further, the same goes for the garbage in our lives. Maybe it’s washed up because of our own careless or inconsiderate action, or maybe that of another? Perhaps the garbage is no fault of our own yet litters our landscape. What to do with that? For me, each morning I will clean my shores, returning the “garbage” to those to whom it belongs or up to the heavens for re-purposing.

What the tide may bring…what do I need to release back into the sea? What needs to ride that tide that is not mine, carried to the next receiver? Like a message in a bottle or a prayer sent to heaven. This analogy of the sea is perfect to release what no longer serves me. With each lapping of the wave on the shore, I breathe one breath at a time, rhythmic and endless. While the sea certainly can be tumultuous, just as in life, nothing…even the storm…lasts forever. Let the rage flow and the waves crash, knowing that the sea some days is as calm as glass.

What the tide may bring…as the tide recedes each day, the landscape it leaves is barren. Perhaps it wonders if it will ever teem with life, with water, ever again? Everything is exposed that was once hidden. There may be treasures even in this emptiness and perhaps some garbage too? Both cycles of the tide have a purpose, just as cycles in our life do. These barren times allow for our reflection and introspection.

What the tide may bring…I am enamored with the sea and all that it teaches me. Aren’t we all a bit like the sea glass? Perhaps we are tossed into the sea carelessly all broken and sharp. We navigate the storms and currents, banged against the rocks, the pebbles, the sand…over and over again. Then, one day, we ride the tide and land. No longer sharp but smooth and iridescent. No perceived as garbage (which we aren’t) but a much sought-after treasure…art.

You never know…

What the tide may bring.