"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
~Mark Twain
It's no accident that Samuel Clemons used many-a sailing metaphor in his writing--his years as a river pilot no doubt colored his world in hues of sea green and ocean blue, and for many, he epitomizes the life in search of freedom and adventure which the water implies.
The current economy seems to have rekindled that flame in the hearts of many--those who, after years of striving to maintain status quo, have now come to discover all that stress and strain has flushed their dreams down the drain. "Safe Harbor" is to many now a distant shore, indeed.
Or, is it?
Last night, at our monthly meeting of local sailors and those who yen for the water, this was a popular subject of discussion. Those of us who do (still) own boats, well, we're looking to the wind & waves as an alternative lifestyle choice. Those yet to throw their hard-earned money into what popular critics may call a "hole in the water to dump money into", still recognize the inherent freedom symbolized by that sailboat.
Explore
The goal of many of our members is to simply expand our horizons--do things we never took the time to do, always talked about and never did--we were too busy with life to stop and live it. Sailing is just one way we can get out and see our wonderful world from a different perspective--the view from the water is as different as that from the sky!
Dream
Who has not faced the sun with eyes closed, absorbing the warmth and imagining the tropical isle where the only sounds are the wind and the waves? That's what sailing does for me, still, over ten years after taking that leap, it still never fails to transport me to a place of no worries.
Discover
When we choose to participate in any sport or activity where we are somewhat at the mercy of Nature, we learn things about ourselves we could not have done any other way, because we are forced to let go of control. Once we let go of that control, stress goes along with it, and without the stress our minds are free to roam.
This is Zen.
So, why stick with the "safe" path, when we now know it really doesn't exist? Throw off those bowlines, and let's go for a sail!
© Loretta Buckner, 2010
Click here to check out
The Suncoast Sailing Meetup Group!
Comments(4)