Ebbs and Flows at OBX
Tide cycles as metaphor
Our campsite is about 50 yards from the ocean here in the town of Rodanthe on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, about 20 miles north of Hatteras. We’ve visited many beaches in the last 4 months. In Juno Beach Florida it was a 5 minute walk to the Atlantic Ocean, about a quarter mile away. In Charleston, we had to drive 10 miles. In southern NC we also had to drive to the beach. Here at the OBX we can hear the ocean from our bedroom window!
I go down to the beach 3-4 times per day since it’s so close. From sunrise walks at 6 AM to evening strolls to enjoy the fading light. And during the day we’ve spent hours lounging by the shore. It’s been total immersion. Sometimes I’m literally immersed when I put my chair in the water, right at the shoreline and let it lap up on my feet.
The beach here is not very wide. Years of erosion have taken their toll. In fact, a few houses fall into the ocean annually as Mother Nature reclaims some of her territory from us foolish humans who build structures right up against her shore. The beach is only about 100 yards wide where we are. It’s plenty big enough for us. There are so few people here, so it’s enough space. But you DO have to pay attention to where you set up camp if you arrive at low tide. The ocean does come up about 40-50 yards from low to high tide.
Sitting watching and contemplating the movement of the ocean I went back in my memory banks to retrieve some tidbits of knowledge from my youth. Growing up in Miami, we were intimately aware of tides since we had boats and were on the water quite a bit. My memories were enough to recall that there are four tides per day at the ocean, two high tides and two low tides. What I didn’t understand (or had forgotten) is the exact details. The earth’s tides are affected by the gravitational pull of the moon (I did remember that). Tide cycles are not every 24 hours, but every 24 hours and 50 minutes because each day it takes the earth 50 minutes longer to rotate on its axis then the moons rotation around the earth . The result is that every day high and low tides move forward by almost an hour and return to the same time about once a month. Also at Full and New moon, when the moon is aligned with the sun, we get a spring tide. On those days the water comes further up the shore. When the sun and moon are at right angles to the earth, at first and third quarter moons, we get neap tides and the high tides are at their lowest.
When we put our chairs down on the beach the first day here, we weren’t paying attention to the fact that the high tide was coming in and we quickly got swamped by an incoming wave. So we moved ourselves higher up the shoreline to set up camp where we wouldn’t get soaked. After that experience we checked each day to see where we were in the tidal cycle so we’d stay dry. Some days there’s lots of room and some days you have to move back and prepare for the surge.
The most obvious metaphor here is that life, like the tides ebbs and flows. It also repeats. Every day and every month, returning to the same place. Of course life isn’t as simple as the tides. The gravitational forces of nature are more dependable then the external forces of our lives. But there is some similarity to the analogy, I think. The older I get, and the more ebbs and flows I go through, I have to remind myself that this is the way of life. It’s especially true here on the road where there is little consistency.
The tides are also affected by the weather. Wind is a big contributor, of course, and storms too. The Outer Banks are infamous for their hurricane strikes. Sitting out off the Atlantic seaboard, sticking out like a sore thumb, they almost invite the coastal beasts to take swipes at them. Sometimes gently and sometimes with great impact. Another metaphor here? I think so. As life takes swipes at us, we must “weather the storms” and then recover and rebuild as best we can.
So observing and witnessing the tidal cycles here at the ocean’s shore, I’m reminded of some important lessons. To witness the cycles of the tides and of life and to be prepared for the ebbs and flows. They will come, as surely as the moon revolves around the earth and pulls the oceans towards and away from the shore. As the old saying goes, “go with the flow”. And storms will come, taking their toll and requiring us to rebuild and renew. To put the pieces back together again and again.
Perhaps these places allow us to go inward. To focus on our lives more quietly with that gentle sound of the ocean meeting the shore. It’s very meditative. Probably why there are a lot of YouTube sleep videos of ocean views and sounds. There are many reasons people migrate to the ocean beaches. I think now that one of them is to be witness to the tides, literally and metaphorically.
I would, during the day move my chair right up to the waters edge and let it immerse me in its surge.
High tide as the ocean reaches closer to the dunes.
Gods fingers at the shore. Not every morning would the sun emerge from the waters edge, like the one above. On those days, the emerging light on the clouds would paint the sky in pastel hues.
Low tide. Observing and meditating…..from a safe distance.
Hello everyone.
So beautiful!