Lessons learned from a sailor

[Mr.Positive]

I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to have picked the minds of some great “old salts” who have spent their whole lives at sea, experiencing the good with the bad, as they have journeyed around the world.

The path of a sailor is of much excitement, sailors seem to have this passion about life, and the world, that can not be compared to. It’s a life full of adventure.

One of the greatest joys is sailing into a remote anchorage from the sea, tired, cold, and wet from the passage, to find calm clear waters, sandy beaches, beautiful exotic women, fresh food….dropping the anchor, and when the boat is secure, stretching out in the sun and relaxing, drying off.

This is the time to reflect back on the sail. What worked, what didn’t? How can the boat be improved, what was damaged during the passage, and how can it be fixed? In essence, it’s the time where lessons are learned. It’s a time to rebuild and grow, before pulling up anchor, and moving on to the next destination.

The sailor appreciates being at anchor more, the tougher the sail was. And this can be one of the biggest challenges for the sailor. Getting too comfortable at anchor. Getting complacent, and thinking why leave here for the unknown? What’s over the horizon? Is it worth picking up and going on?

The sailor has to remind himself that it’s not fearing unknown that’s holding him back, it’s the fact that by staying, he limits his growth as a sailor.

Our lives, as men, should be just like this. Sometimes we are moving forward in life, making headway towards the anchorage of our choice, our goals, and once the goal is reached….we get complacent. We relax.

However, to fully appreciate the calm times at anchor, you must be willing to battle the storm to get there!! To face the unknown without fear for the future.

The anchorage is not a time to get complacent, it’s a time to reflect and grow, rebuild, plan the next destination.

A boat at anchor for a long time will rot away, just like a man’s soul if left unchallenged.

 

[reset]

I need a good analogy like this. I always thought it was the destination. But the sailing is the actual journey.

Not much of a great sailor would say "hey I set out for sea one day, and the first island I found, I set anchor, and I'm still here!"

 

[Mr.Positive]

I need a good analogy like this. I always thought it was the destination. But the sailing is the actual journey.

Not much of a great sailor would say "hey I set out for sea one day, and the first island I found, I set anchor, and I'm still here!"

Exactly Reset!! Life is a series of destinations, just like the ocean swell, rising and falling underneath us. Constant change and new challenges on the horizon.

Right now I'm at anchor personally. I'm planning my next "destination", which, hopefully will be soon.

 

[Interceptor]

The more I reflect on it, the more I realize that it is a transformation. A continual transformation into BEING.
It is almost ALL Internal.
As they say in JKD, its a PROCESS, NOT a PRODUCT.
It's in the JOURNEY, not the DESTINATION.


Instead of wroking hard and suffering, it really was/is BECOMING.

Be , so that you can DO, and then HAVE


But we grew up with it all wrong.

Do, so that you can HAVE, and then BE.

In other words, working hard was a guarantee to being happy.

Which is actually a fallacy.

Work HARD (and suffer) = HAPPINESS


But a car will not MAKE you 'happy'.

A Rolex, an Armani suit, a yacht....cannot MAKE you HAPPY.

You can have all that stuff, and be one lonely depressed motherfvcker....

You can have a a beautiful woman by your side...who doesnt respect you and takes your money
..and be the loneliest, unfulfilled guy in the world.



Dr. Paul actually calls the desired state we want as "DURABLE FULFILLMENT"

Something to think about...


We're her to enjoy. That means a constant state of BEING.

 

[joekerr31]

I need a good analogy like this. I always thought it was the destination. But the sailing is the actual journey.

Not much of a great sailor would say "hey I set out for sea one day, and the first island I found, I set anchor, and I'm still here!"

what you will find in life is that there is no destination. we are all just being carried along by the sea. some of us learn to master the current more than others and enjoy the 'journey' more than others - but ultimately we all end up at the same destination.

so yes, if you are going to spend time doing anything it should be on learning how to enjoy the journey.