--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any story is an ocean whose tide begins…" description: "\"“Any story is an ocean whose tide begins in a place I can't know, and my life is but a moment in that flood, my part in it only a mote in the flow.”\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/ned-hayes-25391_flood_any-story-is-an-ocean-whose-tide-begins_2314501.jpg" --- # Any story is an ocean whose tide begins in a place I can't… ![“Any story is an ocean whose tide begins in a place I can't know, and my life is but a moment in that flood, my part in it only a mote in the flow.” quote by Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/ned-hayes-25391_flood_any-story-is-an-ocean-whose-tide-begins_2314501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/ned-hayes-25391_flood_any-story-is-an-ocean-whose-tide-begins_2314501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/ned-hayes-25391_flood_any-story-is-an-ocean-whose-tide-begins_2314501.jpg) > ““Any story is an ocean whose tide begins in a place I can't know, and my life is but a moment in that flood, my part in it only a mote in the flow.”” [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a fleeting part of a vast, unknown story, like a tiny mote in a massive tide. **In simple terms:** Our lives are brief and part of a larger, unknown narrative. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and wonder about life's larger story. Themes existential humility storytelling Mood thoughtful poetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - writing - storytelling - spiritual contemplation Key Concepts philosophy metaphor life narrative Questions to Reflect On - What does being a "mote" mean to you? - How do you find meaning in the larger tide? A Different Perspective It may induce existential anxiety for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Dying is like the ocean, sometimes the tide comes in gently with soft, delicate waves quietly working in the background. Other days, the waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-riad/dying-is-like-the-ocean-sometimes-the-tide-comes-in-gently-with-soft/) Sarah Riad > [It struck me then how much the past - not just the past but history and family - was like the ocean tide. 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My tide goes in and out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-beatty/i-m-old-i-m-young-i-m-intelligent-i-m-stupid-my-tide-goes-in-and-out/) [Warren Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-beatty/) > [“I am knee deep in sea water now, feeling the energy of the tidal waves as they roll inwards towards the shore. A tide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-l-marshall/i-am-knee-deep-in-sea-water-now-feeling-the-energy-of-the-tidal-waves/) [Susan L. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-l-marshall/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I think politicians really go with the tide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-think-politicians-really-go-with-the-tide/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) ## More by Ned Hayes > [“Fog lifts in the valley, rising as mist through the bare-limbed trees. 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Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/rooks-have-clustered-on-either-side-of-the-long-road-it-is-as-if-they/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“Speech does not always unravel matters. Words can betray you, their labyrinthine threads tangled in knots, for we were cursed at that great tower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/speech-does-not-always-unravel-matters-words-can-betray-you-their/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“I must learn to be as the bear in a cage with the stick that pokes it always, through the bars. The bear acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/i-must-learn-to-be-as-the-bear-in-a-cage-with-the-stick-that-pokes-it/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“April comes to us, with her showers sweet. I wake to the cries of little birds before the light comes across the heath. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/april-comes-to-us-with-her-showers-sweet-i-wake-to-the-cries-of/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“The nitrogen cycle is a kind of miracle. The nitrogen cycle requires bears. Brown bears catch salmon in streams and rivers. Then the brown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/the-nitrogen-cycle-is-a-kind-of-miracle-the-nitrogen-cycle-requires/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“I remember the fire, it burns bright, always around me. I close my eyes, and tears stream out. The tides of the past seize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/i-remember-the-fire-it-burns-bright-always-around-me-i-close-my-eyes/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“The road is a river of ice, slick and unforgiving. A harsh sweep of white iron, smooth as glass and cold enough to freeze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/the-road-is-a-river-of-ice-slick-and-unforgiving-a-harsh-sweep-of/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“Every night, I slip into the empty winter land of memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/every-night-i-slip-into-the-empty-winter-land-of-memory/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) > [“Every moment with your child is precious, no matter how long they live, no matter the number of their days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-hayes/every-moment-with-your-child-is-precious-no-matter-how-long-they-live/) [Ned Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) [Explore all 23 Ned Hayes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-hayes/) ## More Flood quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [“If wishes were teardrops the world would flood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/if-wishes-were-teardrops-the-world-would-flood/) [Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/) > [“Nāne se ho nāne rahie, jaisi nāni doob; Ghās fis sab ood gayā, doob khoob ki khoob.” “It is best to remain low and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhu-keshavjivandas/n-ne-se-ho-n-ne-rahie-jaisi-n-ni-doob-gh-s-fis-sab-ood-gay-doob-khoob/) Sadhu Keshavjivandas > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [The flood of photos sweeps away the dams of memory. Never before has a period known so little about itself. In the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-kracauer/the-flood-of-photos-sweeps-away-the-dams-of-memory-never-before-has-a/) [Siegfried Kracauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-kracauer/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“So all were gone at last, one by one, each swept out into the mighty flood tide of the city's life, there to prove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/so-all-were-gone-at-last-one-by-one-each-swept-out-into-the-mighty/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Early humans, bursting with questions about Nature but with limited understanding of its dynamics, explained things in terms of supernatural persons and person-animals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/early-humans-bursting-with-questions-about-nature-but-with-limited/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. 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