Abel Tasman

I had just returned from the Abel Tasman National Park Coast Track at New Zealand. Situated on South Island's northern shores, it was a long walk over 36 km, with primitive huts for stay overnight.

There is a wealth of awesome tramping tracks in New Zealand but this one is indeed classic. Throughout the track along the coastline, there are quite a number of tidal crossings which can only be passed within a few hours either side of low tide. That means we have to consult a tide timetable when planning the trip across those estuaries, lest the high tides block the track.

To stop myself treading water and wasting time at high tide, I ended up waking before sunrise to leave the hut and start my walk on the second day. Oh, that wasn't a big deal as the sleeping quality at those huts isn't what one would savour. And the tidal crossing turned out to be a revelation.

As I headed across the estuary at low tide in the wee hours of the morning, amidst the songs by bellbirds, fantails and tui, it was with some relief I read from the signpost that the detour route, in case of high tide, would have taken me extra three hours of walk.

Does that sound similar to what we did in mundane world?

I think there's a good deal of similarity between tidal crossing and the day-to-day challenges we face – big ones and small ones alike. The mortgage of our properties, the level of difficulty in any examination and, obviously, the Hang Seng Index, all come with high tide and low tide. Do not mistake my point here. In no sense do I advocate taking short cuts. All of us, no matter how hardworking and diligent, must be ever aware of the possibility of hitting at the high tide. And, for that matter, the time of tide in this universe varies from day to day, and we can't make the low tide comes earlier (not least because the tide timetable doesn't exist at all in most circumstances).

And therein lies a lesson, for which I keep reminding myself and others. A doctor who takes longer to get his or her membership qualification doesn't necessarily perform worse than anyone else; he or she might have simply hit the high tide during the professional examination.