Fluidity and the Captain.........

If you stop and reflect a little bit, you would probably agree that life is dynamic fluid that flows through time swirling us along as a floating population of  flotsam.....we think we are in control, the master of our own ship but in reality we are swept along in the currents of our destiny without much input as to our ultimate end. We plan and scheme and dream and organize our physical existence in an attempt to be in control of our fate and more often than not our fortune takes another tangent....taking us somewhere unexpected .....Sometimes welcoming sometimes not so! So what do we do? We adapt!! If someone were to ask me what is the most critical of human life skills, my answer would have to be adaptability. We have no control of what eventually happens to us. Consider life's ultimate arena, existence, as we know it. Look at what life forms have been around the longest.....sharks, reptiles, arachnids, insects.......roaches!!! Why them, you wonder and not the big, strong, handsome, popular creatures . The answer is simple....They were the ones that  adapted to their changing providence and survived . Those who couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't perished.
"So whats this got to do with sailing?" ......you must be wondering.....???
Well, let me tell you the story of an anonymous captain from around here. For decades this man has been focused on the day when he could depart these shores taking his own boat and go cruising.  Through marriages and children and sick parents and job instability and grand kids and money woes....you know.....life's realities...this man persisted. The day came when he found the boat that would take him to his exotic tropical daydreams. He bought her. He named her after his long departed mother. He paid her off. She was his....not too big, not too small...ultimately seaworthy yet manageable and affordable. One day his employer made the decision to boot him out the door under the guise of a retirement incentive. Just like the dog that you want outside. You open the door and invite him out.....if he doesn't comply.....what do you do? .....you scoot him out, you boot him out, or you pick him up and throw him out. Either way the dog is out. The captain knew this and quietly walked away from 26 years of his life. This was OK with him. He had saved a little money and owed no one. He sold his little house gave away all his treasures and put the wheels in motion to finally cast off.  One hot muggy day while working on his boat he felt dizzy and could feel his heart pounding weirdly in his chest. How strange he thought and then forgot about it and continued on with his purpose.
It didn't go away! One day  the captain finds himself laying on an operating table with masked medicos all around who were preparing to cut open his femoral artery and jam a catheter into his heart!  Two days later waiting  in front of the hospital for his buddy to pick him up, the captain was quiet in his thoughts. His friend pulled up and the captain got in. "What did they say?" asked his friend. "I might not be able to go cruising" sadly answered the captain.

Peace to you all my friends...............