Forks.

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose all our ventures. 

These lines were spoken by Shakespeare through the guise of Brutus in 'Julius Caesar'. Had my high-school English text not contained lessons on Shakespeare's plays, my thoughts would never have been influenced or widened to the level it currently has been now. The above quote has been one of many that I have tried to understand and also could relate myself to, during my trysts with life's curves.

Being an open-minded person comes with its own travails. Acquaintances dismiss you off with a wave of the hand or a shrug of the face whenever you contradict society's opinion. Friends do not quite grasp your flight of thoughts and utter all-too-familiar refrains of exasperation. To ride all this and remain practically and happily approachable, the above quote rings in my ears and soothes my mind.

There is a tide in the affairs of men:
This line is an arresting opening that gives the reader a peek into the topic that he wishes to convey. Commonly, the word 'affair' is positively associated with a negative connotation of romance. However, that solely is not the objective. Affairs here encompasses the entirety of all the happenings in the life of an adult. At every such juncture, the man has two options before him. Two roads that he can equally and possibly traverse. These two might be equally difficult or one might prove to be easy. To be equipped mentally when facing such situations enables men to take 'right' actions, however tough or easy they may be. To ride a wave correct and safe, you need to be at the crest and respect the tide. To ride a road correct and safe, you need to know the forest and select the path.

Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune:
What image does the word 'flood' form in your mind? To me, it is a huge body of water rushing towards me and flooring me in its wake. Here, 'flood' refers to a huge body of knowledge rushing to occupy your mind and flatten your senses. Only when you respect the tide you are in can you understand its undulations and wrest control at the right moment. And that's when you take the right decisions. In hindsight, the human mind attributes it only to fortune and conveniently ignores and/or undermines the effort that men took to make that fortune happen.

Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries:
All the education gained in one's formative years will bear fruit only at the time of such decisions. These decisions can be taken in consideration of all surrounding events and need not necessarily conform to society. If forgotten, a man's journey will be mired in, as the author says, 'shallows' and 'miseries'. Note how he beautifully forms a perception of depth in the reader's mind through these two words.

On such a full sea are we now afloat:
Such decisions need to be taken once an age of responsibility and maturity has been biologically reached. So says society. How conveniently does it ignore the emotional and mental reach! Shakespeare doesn't. This line is applicable to persons of any biological age. And therein lies another amazing skill of this author! Catering to individuals across inflicted boundaries.

And we must take the current as it serves
Or lose all our ventures.
This line sums up the entire point of how one should live out one's life. Sans cribbing, sans a victimized feeling, one should play the game with cards that are dealt out from the pack. You may argue that no event in life is random and that each happens for a reason. Those reasons may materialize and amaze us over time. However, the catch is that we tend to recognize and regret or rejoice at our actions only in hindsight. We quite conveniently react to all such events when it requires of us a response. Either of that is an action and that is precisely what Shakespeare advises us to do.