The Rising Tide

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about energy, what happens when we put our attention, effort, kindness, and goodness into something, and how that energy has a way of creating more of the same.

Last week, I read The Go-Giver, a book built around the idea that success isn’t simply about what we can get, but what we are willing to give. It got me thinking about generosity beyond business. About kindness. Community. Momentum. And the idea that sometimes the energy we put into the world finds its way back to us in ways we could never have planned.

This week… I got a pretty incredible visual representation of that idea.

Three sailboats ran aground along the shore near Weather Watch Park, not far from our house. Literally 20 feet off our back patio. It’s an interesting place for that to happen as ironically just offshore is some of the deepest water in Puget Sound, a place where enormous ships regularly travel, yet close to shore, the water can disappear dramatically with the tide.

For these sailors, it did.

There were people watching, people wondering how to help, and even the Coast Guard was involved. But ultimately, there was only so much anyone could do.

They needed the tide.

And eventually, it came back.

Watching the water slowly return around those boats today, I couldn’t stop thinking about the phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

We usually use it to talk about shared success, the idea that when things improve for a community, everyone benefits. But standing there watching it happen literally made me think about it differently.

What if we can also be the rising tide?

What if the encouragement we give someone helps them move forward? What if introducing two people creates an opportunity neither of them could have created alone? What if showing up, sharing knowledge, supporting someone’s idea, making a referral, offering kindness, or simply believing in someone adds just enough water beneath their boat to help them move again? My neighbor highlighted that for me as instead of taking pictures she walked out to the boats and asked if the captain needed anything. She requested hot water and a hug. Both of which my kind neighbor provided.

My neighbor reminded me that small moments create impact. We don’t need an enormous gesture for positive change.

A tide isn’t one giant wave.

It’s a gradual accumulation. Water returning, inch by inch, until suddenly something that was completely stuck can float again.

Maybe positive energy works a little like that, too.

The more goodness we put into our communities, relationships, work, and everyday interactions, the more we create an environment where other people can rise. And when we help create that environment for others, we inevitably become part of it ourselves.

There will always be moments when we run aground. When effort doesn’t seem to be producing anything. When we can’t quite see the way forward.

Sometimes we need help.

Sometimes we need patience.

And sometimes we simply need the tide to come back in.

This week, I’m paying attention to the energy I put into things. I want to notice where kindness creates more kindness, where effort creates momentum, and where helping someone else rise somehow lifts the rest of us along with them.

Because maybe the goal isn’t just to wait for the rising tide.

Maybe we can help create it.