He talked about what gender a boat was. In his mind it was always “a she,” but he met a girl who felt that they should be “boys.” They never resolved the issues but accepted that each of them could be right.
It only mattered who was the captain and they both agreed that a boat was never an "it." He next discusses the difference between the true wind and the apparent wind and how these applied to our children.
Are we forcing our children to act in ways we wish them to go, fighting the wind, or do we let them read where their wind is taking them and let them go? A tough question, since I am as guilty of this as anyone.
He continues in the next chapter expanding upon this thought when it came to his own son. He realized that his own son was rejecting his wisdom and that his son had to find his own mentors and learn his own lessons.
He had to learn to watch and not comment as best he could, and always be willing to provide his wisdom only if asked. He had an advantage when growing up, because his parents were dead.
He could pick and reject as many mentors as he wanted. His son had him as a model and only by rejecting his dads’ model could he develop his own. Tough words for a father to hear.
As he gets to the ending chapters he talks about when to sell your boat. When to divest the thing that had taught you all your lessons in life. Now it was his time to shed the past and so he could begin the cycle anew.
Last, he says that as long as he has his memories of the mentors and places he inhabited in his youth he didn’t need to own the physical object, the boat, and he could let it go.
He would not lose the essence of the boy he had been, the young man who had sailed it, and as he grew older he was still learning and sailing into his future. A great read and I encourage you to take the time to read it.
If you have struggled with this question and others then go to Patterson2Y2R,com/blog should be a place you should visit to share your stories and challenges.
I have an ear that would love to hear your stories. Let’s taste the real meaning of life. I am still working on my course with a goal of launching a starter course but struggling how to do it. I will keep you abreast as to how the process goes.
If you want to participate in this process and join my first class please send me an email to bobchuckpatterson@yahoo.com
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