Yesterday, I was mostly foraging. The brilliant sun shimmered off the frigid water that lapped mile long stretch of sands of the Pembrokeshire coastline. The Spring Tide caused by the alignment of the sun and moon was pulling millions of gallons water to the other side of the planet and exposing sands that are only seen 10-30 times a year. This was our chance! Around a dozen of us had come on a seashore foraging expedition to find our dinner. We had already spent the morning walking pathways and digging up wild garlic, sea radish and other such coastal foliage to flavour our dinner later in the day. Now, we needed to find the main course for our foraged and free sustenance.

Squirting

About a dozen of us stalked the wet sands and as those in front did, in their wake shoots of water came up from the sands as clams and Razor Clams (the long thin shells you may have come across) squirted water up from the sand. If you are not confident of nature, you'd think they didn't like you and were spitting, but, it was their propulsion system to drive themselves deeper into the sands as they felt the pressure of our feet. They were the initial target. We needed to spot them poking out of the sand before they felt us then grab them between thumb and finger and wait for them to tire then pull them out. Then, pop them into the groups dinner basket. The more experienced, noticed tubes of sand and a small squirt and would fall to their knees and dig a foot down to claim a clam the size of a fist.

After this, we took to the rock pools, peering down and seeing star fish, crabs, anemones, mussels, winkles, kelp and various types of seaweed I cannot recall the name of. People put their hands under rocks in the pools trying to find lobsters and edible crabs. We had no luck there, just the smaller things like mussels.

Every day, we are all foraging

It occurred to me, as I scavenged for food, that this was one giant analogy for the economic world in which we live. Sometimes the tide is in, and we will all make more money and have higher standards of living. Sometimes, the tide is out, and our standard of living will advance more slowly or even decline. And so, the relentless ebb and flow of tides and economic cycles goes.

Each of us has our own specialism at work and so it is in the sea. The Kelp grips for dear life onto the rocks as the waves crash over and photosynthesizes its energy from the sun. Bivalves such as mussels and other shellfish extract their nutrients from the water from phytoplankton or disintegrated kelp! Crabs, lobsters, fish, etc. live off the seaweed and molluscs. And so it goes around. Each organism has a specialism that takes advantage of a certain niche available.

Every day, regardless of economic circumstances, most of humanity will get up and go to work. They will try to find a way to make a living, in good times or bad and they will mostly succeed in this. Every day, they will improve how they do things, become more efficient and evolve to their niche, thus ensuring that the companies they work for remain or become profit generating.

Owning the great companies of the world

This is why, if you own shares in the great companies of the world, you will surely profit in the long term. Because every day, we get up and we go foraging and foraging produces profit, no matter how small. I'll admit, our foraging was a small profit, I ended up going to a Vietnamese Restaurant instead, which is probably just as hard to find in South Wales! But, with practice, we would get better and that's how we improve and that's what drives profits in businesses.

People, will not stop doing this no matter what happens. Dead calm or storm, tide in or out, we will go to work and get better and reap the ensuing profits.

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reasons for staying ashore.

- Vincent Van Gogh