When two ocean currents converge, driftwood, floating seaweed, and other flotsam tend to accumulate and create a long serpentine tideline. Lots of different things can cause currents to mate. Sometimes one body of water, like the brackish flow from our Narrow River, sinks beneath or rides over the surface of Narragansett Bay. Sometimes the wind currents play matchmaker as they take command and blend two diverse streams. When this occurs tidelines are formed by internal waves that oscillate in deeper water rather than on the surface. Sometimes the water just gets caught up with itself – swirling and whirling until it flows backwards.

Tidelines aren’t about tides. They are noticeable when boaters and surfers come across a line of junk that’s been cast off by nature and humans. We encounter metaphysical tidelines when summer days converge with workweeks. The former promise relaxation and the later are constrained by tight schedules. The line between the two is composed of whatever gets scuttled. Personal tidelines are created when our mind and body are blended and each gives up what it least needs to surf deep and surface waves of contentment.

Some people avoid crossing ocean tidelines because they look offensive. Ditching the debris that weighs heavy on our spirits is what summer is all about. Letting go of personal flotsam and jetsam makes summer days all the more enjoyable. Tidelines are temporary. During their brief existence they relieve two currents of stuff neither needs.

The lesson from the sea is that in order to optimize summer days, vacations, and holidays, let go of the emotional baggage, extra items on the Do List, and resistance to the natural flow of our lifestyle. At the same time, avoid cramming leisure time with unrealistic expectations and few opportunities to go quietly and deeply into your mindbody. Our work and play personas need a certain lightness of being so that we can go with the flow and take deep pleasure in waves of contentment.  That’s at least one good reason to love summer.