The Suffering of Tides

Living near the Atlantic Ocean, I am aware of the tides, if for no other reason than deciding when we can best take a walk.  I have heard that the tides are influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon.  I have also heard it said that the phases of the moon influence emotions.  But I have never connected the two, until today.   I can feel the tide draw us in, crowd us out, and believe we all face the same rotation.  As I walk along I see the water wash away sand castles, names and messages inscribed there.  It pushes us away and obliterates whatever it wants in its path.  It even claims huge chunks of the land at its peak.  As the tides recede, walls of sand remain, offering the illusion of strength in the absence of the water.  If you were there at the height of the tide, you know the tide seized sand at will, and the walls are really jagged remnants.  The high tide of human emotions can seize territory as well, and be just as destructive. 

At low tide, the water has receded and calmed.  It is quite rare to see large wave when the tide is out.   Even a windy day will not produce more than a two foot wave at low tide.  We stroll out and enjoy the illusion that the tide has been tamed.  Things seem calm and easy for an hour or two.  You even watch the sand suck in water as it tries to escape by rolling back as the wave recedes.  The high tides overwhelm us some times, but the low tides let us rest.  We spread out across the open space, and build our castles, park our shelters and chairs.  We buy the illusion again, twice a day--the water is gone.     

This lull allows us calm and rest, with nothing ominous until the tide begins to run at us again. It's not the wave motion that shows the teeth of the sea.  Each wave has its moment, but it eventually outruns its water supply, collapses and recedes.  It's the inexorable tide that makes us wary and ready to move.  Each time we are sucked in and then chased away.  We know it will happen twice a day, and we run back and forth.  It is a model for suffering in the sense of the human condition.  A few natives develop the clarity of mind to choose their times and places.  They see the source of suffering, the breathing of the mighty ocean, but the mass of people are infrequent visitors and are driven.  It is said that once you see the source of suffering, you have the key to its end.  But few who see the tides and the tide charts that predict them act on the knowledge and develop clarity to end the to and fro.  

But this is only the shore view.  From the safety of the shore, we watch the beast and feel safe, once we see the limits of the tides and waves.  But what of those who ride those seas?