Sailing; A Journey

" A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for."
 -John Shedd.


Normally quotes like this wouldn't have caught my attention for long, I would have thought "That's nice." and stuck it somewhere.
But before my Institute class where I received this quote as a handout,
I had watched a TV show about the Titanic.
Where once again people are trying to figure out how the boat sunk, how it broke apart.
So....because the Titanic was on my mind....this quote sunk in. (haha)
And I had to wonder.
About boats, harbors, and sailing.


Sure all boats in the harbor are safe.....safe as can be.....unless its Pearl Harbor or something. ;) lol.


Yet, like I usually do, I try and bring these ideas, thoughts I have to life....apply them to myself and to others.


How each ship can be a person.
And each ship, boat, dingy.....can reflect a person's past and how it can effect the future.


There are the small dingies that are pieced together with this and that and look so shabby that you wouldn't think that they could float. Yet they do. They managed to float and ride out all storms.
Then there are the huge ocean liner type ships that look flawless and beautiful, everything perfect, unsinkable.....but due to hidden flaws, to weaknesses overlooked, if the right (wrong) situation shows up......like an iceberg....and we can't avoid it in time.....and what happens? The flaws/weaknesses become huge gaps, breakages, destruction....and the ship sinks.


What I'm wondering is.....how are our ships built?
Do we let things that happen to us in the past strengthen us? If they are bad do we correct the flaw? Or hide it with shiny gold designs? Do we buckle under the stress of events and sink below the waters? Do we take some damage, but manage to keep afloat long enough for repairs to be made, for a safe harbor to be found?


What are your strengths in life? Do you have places of safety, harbors in which you can dwell to shelter from the storm? Do you have sister/brother ships nearby you, where if you do end up in trouble that you can call on them for aid and they will come to your rescue?


Life is like sailing from harbor to harbor. We had a beginning, we have a destination in mind. Sometimes they change, sometimes our journey is cut short, but we are almost always sailing.
Where do you go to 'replenish your supplies?' Do you have family? Friends? Church? Work? etc.....places where you can drop by and top off and shelter from the storm?


Or are you surrounding yourself with icebergs, and your perpetually sailing blindly in the night at full speed?
In times of trial do you slow down and tread cautiously? or speed on, ignorant of the dangers surrounding you on all sides?


Ships....they come in all sizes, big, small, and medium. Some are bright and shiny, quick and fast, while others look dull, slapped together, worn by time and weather, slowly moving about.
But who will survive in the end?
The ones who have endured the trials, have marks of storms, battles on them but still stubbornly remain afloat.
Or the shiny bright ones who don't have any idea what sailing the deep blue is actually like....


Perhaps its just the thought of structure.
How are we built?
What in our life do we rely on, what beacons on the horizon do we sail to? Are they paths of safety? Paths that are dangerous? Do you have a guide? Do you know the waters well?


Sure....it might be easily said that we could stay in the harbor.....but we can't learn while there.
its only through the act of sailing, weathering trials (storms) and blessings (sunshine) or perhaps a growing experience....or a learning experience (wind) that we learn, that we grow, that we show that we've actually been part of the world. Getting down and dirty, but not letting the weight of responsibility weigh us down.


Strengthen yourself, Hold to the right. As long as you can trust in your supports no matter what the weather. Then. Your ship will stay afloat.
Stay afloat Arcis Ankels
Each journey we take is unique filled with different paths, currents, and weather.
What may be easy for one, is hard for another.
What a small dingy can survive, a huge ocean liner may not.
We have our different weaknesses. Some things we can sail through no problem while others struggle, yet when we struggle others may have an easier time.
Do not judge too harshly the shiny boats, that seem to have an effortless time in the waters.
They may be hiding huge weaknesses that can sink them.
Don't judge the shabby rowboats that move less quickly then you.
They have strengths that we can't see, that keep them steady and afloat in the storms.
We all need each other. The tug boat guides the ship into and out of the harbor. Or comes to their aid.
We have different responsibilities Some are huge, some are small.
But what matters....what counts...
Is if you can stand up, shoulder those responsibilities, and do them to the best of your abilities.
And no matter what.
You can be great in your own niche of the world.
There is no need to be jealous. The shiny or the dull, each has a duty to fulfill.
And we all need each other to lean upon.
Support to keep us afloat, even if we run into trouble (icebergs, reefs, shallow waters)


No matter what size, shape, color, or age your ship. no matter if its built from drift wood or from steel.
You are important, and you can stay strong.
Don't let any flaws into your design.
Because it will just hurt you in the end if the 'right' weather (in the sense that its bad weather) hits you when you least expect it and sinks you to the bottom where you will have a really difficult time recovering.. :S


You may be safe in the harbor, but the adventure is in the sailing. :)
Good luck on your journey. :)


Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!


-Sarnic Dirchi