Life is great!

Lisa & Rand — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:35:35 GMT

Went to a job interview yesterday - I am now officially paid to teach kids to knit and crochet!!!! I am so excited, I can't wait to start.... A reminder to myself how important it is to have patience for life to present its opportunities to me, and to make sure that I jump right on and put as much effort as I can in when they do appear (while allowing things to just naturally come about as well). It used to scare me that life's precious moments were so subtle - for some reason it seemed to me that when life presents potentials for changing direction, or for changing a frame of mind, that there should be music playing - that it should somehow be a dramatic event of sorts....but not so...there's definitely a subtle "music" of sorts that takes place - warm fuzzy feelings, or feeling like you've just gone through a loop on a rollercoaster, or just a general feeling that there's a lot of potential held within one sentence or one word someone chooses to vocalize..... YEAH! To life's precious moments.....may I be able to live my life accordingly....

Home Sweet Home

Lisa & Rand — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:12:22 GMT

Almost a week has passed since we've arrived back - and I am sooo glad to be on land. Sailing was a surreal adventure - I'm still absorbing the impact of spending so much time on water - it still seems novel to be sleeping in a bed in a room in a house on solid ground. I just started reading Robinson Crusoe for the first time - and found a quote l can relate to quite well: "Never any young adventurer's misfortunes began sooner or continued longer, that mine. The ship was no sooner got out of the Humber, than the wind began to blow, and the sea to rise in a most frightful manner; and as I had never been at sea before, I was most inexpressibly sick in body, and terrified in mind. I began now seriously to reflect upon what I had done, and my conscience reproached me with the contempt of advice, and the breach of my duty to my father. All this while the storm increased, and the sea went very high. I expected every wave would have swallowed us up, and that every time the ship fell in the trough or hollow of the sea, we should never rise more. In this agony of mind, I made many resolutions, that if it would please God to spare my lief in this one voyage, I would go directly home to my father, and never set foot upon a ship again while I lived. These wise and sober thoughts continued until the next day, when the wind was abated, and the sea calmer, and I began to be a little inured to it. Towards night the weather cleared up, the wind was quite over, and a charming fine evening followed; the sun went down perfectly clear, and rose so the next morning; and having little or no wind, and a smooth sea, the sight was the most delightful that ever I saw. I had slept well in the night, and was now no more sea-sick, but very cheerful - looking with wonder upon the sea, that was so rough and terrible the day before, and could be so calm and so pleasant in so little a time after: and now, lest my good resolutions should continue my companion, who had indeed enticed me away, comes to me. "Well, Bob," says he, clapping me upon the shoulder, "how do you do after it? I warrant you were frightened, weren't you, last night, when it blew but a capful of wind?" "A capful d'ye call it?" said I, "'twas a terrible storm." "A storm, you fool you!" replies he, "do you call that a storm? why it was nothing at all; give us but a good ship and sea-room, and we think nothing of such squall of wind as that; but you're but a fresh-water sailor, Bob; come, let us make a bowl of punch, and we'll forget all that: d'ye see what charming weather 'tis now?" To make short this sad part of my story, we went the way of all sailors; the punch was made, and I was made half drunk with it, and in that one night's wickedness I drowned all my repentance and resolutions for the future. In a word, as the sea was returned to its smoothness of surface, so my fears and apprehensions of being swallowed up by the sea being forgotten, I entirely forgot the vows that I made in my distress. I found, indeed, some intervals of reflection; but I roused myself from them, and, applying myself to drinking and company, soon mastered the return of those fits; and I had, in five or six days, got complete victory over my conscience. But I was to have another trial for it still." Okay - so maybe I can't relate totally to the drinking side of things - (perhaps that was my problem, I was lacking alcohol and therefore medicinal drunkeness!)....but definitely to the sea swallowing me up! It's interesting - when we were out sailing at night, and all I had for comfort was the huge expanse of stars above us - I felt both swallowed up and embraced by all of that light in the darkness. I felt embraced by the ocean in calm times, but when the winds kicked in or fogs were to heavy or night was drawing near and there was no land in sight....it was pretty freaky - it really makes you go right inside yourself to see how comfortable you really are in your own skin - to test you in finding your safe place within. I've learned and changed a lot from this trip - so much so that at this moment in time I'm having a tough time grasping it all. Give me some more time on land, and I'll integrate the experience into daily life, I'm sure! Ah...home sweet land home....

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