I love to spend time at the seaside, especially with my granddaughters, and to jump the waves as they reach the shore. When my own daughters were younger, we learnt to surf together and to take the tide and surf the wave at just the right moment.
Our surf instructor, Pete would call to say that the tide was up and NOW was the exact moment to head to the beach.
In the same way, life offers fleeting opportune moments – like a high tide – which if seized lead to fortune.
However, missing these opportunities can leave you feeling stuck in the shallow and in miserable circumstances.
Opportunities come in waves and taking action at the right moment “The flood” can lead to success, while failing to act leads to failure or mediocrity.
Perhaps humanity too stands at a point in time where the tide is turning and that collectively, we must become aware of the importance of this moment and the need to take action.
Fate and circumstances may provide the tide, but we must have the wisdom to use it.
The challenges before us — in our communities, our societies, and our planet — can no longer be left for another generation to solve. We are living through a defining moment where delay carries consequences and action carries hope.
Each of us has a part to play, however small it may seem. Like surfers watching the horizon, we must recognise the wave that is before us and have the courage to move.
Do not dither or wait too long but seize the moment…
If we act together, with purpose and determination, we may yet avoid the worst outcomes and help shape a future that is kinder, fairer, and more honest for those who come after us.
The tide is rising. The time is now.
The choice before us is whether we stand watching from the shore — or step forward and take it.
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 –