There’s an African proverb that says simply, ‘Smooth seas do not make a skillful sailor.’
My memories of my sailing experiences, although I never sailed any seas in my 16-footer, certainly would bear that proverb out. But there was also something else I got to see, and learn, from being near one or two unfamiliar lakes…….
‘There is so much in life that lives in darkness.
There is danger in that darkness,
Or is there?
I sense an unexplained danger in the darkness of the lake
As I got nearer, whitecaps slap a subtle warning.
Sailboats lean dangerously into its wind, to test yet submit
To the threatening deep, tentacled waves reach up to grasp
At unwary or unseasoned sailors .
Standing on the shore I dip my hand into the water and
Lift a handful, to hold it for a fleeting moment.
The water is clear, safe, even compelling.
Maybe darkness is caused by distance
And fears by multitudes of mere handfuls.
Not ominous after all.’
Seeing things and people as they really are, and discovering that perhaps, some of them are just too far away for us to pass judgment on, is what matters.
Rich