Continuing on with Richard Bodes book “First You have To row A Little Boat” Chapter nine thru 11 discusses what he learned from the weather. He talks about becoming becalmed.
For a sailor this can be a tough time. You have no wind, so you have no movement. The first time he became becalmed his first thought was to panic and how can he getting back to harbor.
As he sat there, he realized that this was not a bad thing. It forced him to slow down and ponder where he was in life. He had been up to that time pursuing material goals that he mistakenly thought others had expected of him.
He realized while gazing at the night sky, waiting for the wind, that maybe there were richer goals by looking inside himself, rather then racing around.
This served as a valuable precursor for later in life when he was laid up for several months in the hospital and unable to do anything. He continued about his unfounded fears about the future.
How he was so focused on the problems that might appear on the horizon that he failed to notice the dangers in the water in front of his boat and hitting a log which damaged his hull. He eventually learned that only the order he imposed on his life was the only thing he could control.
The world can’t be controlled, only our response to it. While we have to be diligent about the future, we must still be present in the now if we want to enjoy life. He ends by saying, “I can remain on shore paralyzed with fear for the future or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze.
His last lesson was being fog bound. How he felt we each had an inner voice that directed us where we would blossom. Many of us like himself had become fog bound and lost direction from that inner voice.
His mentor’s direction when his boat got in trouble was, “Let go of the tiller,” and let the boat head into the wind. It will be a quiet place.
In other words when his life was falling apart during a divorce, he needed to take time off to ponder and wait to see what the breeze was telling him. Taking time to read the winds of change, your inner voice will know where you need to steer.
He followed his and later found love again and new purpose for life. If you have struggled with this question and others then visit Patterson2Y2R,com/blog.
I have an ear that would love to hear your stories. I am still working on my course with a goal of launching a starter course which is way behind schedule, and 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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