Saturday, September 9, 2023
The sails are at full mast. The deck is cleaned and prepped, and the cabins are stocked. The captain is ready, but there is no wind. There is no course. Have you ever been there? It’s like deep down, you’re ready for a trip, but there is simply no momentum, no plan, and no charter. There are no winds. You seem adrift.
Some boats are full steam ahead. They are powered by their own determination. They are fueled by their own desire to get somewhere – but that fuel runs out eventually. Some boats go in a circle. Their rudder is stuck in one position, coming back to the same spot over and over again. Some boats play it “safe.” They stay close to the shoreline, they wouldn’t want to be pulled out to sea. Some boats run aground. Some are slowly sinking while their crew plays “Nearer My God to Thee.” Some drag the bottom, never able to figure out how to pull the anchor up. Others never leave the dock.
No matter what, you’re heading into one direction. Life is moving you into the mirror, not necessarily in any direction. Every direction is you. No matter where you think you’re going, you are headed towards yourself. Each of those boats is you. In the face of all people, all circumstances, and every evil and good act – it’s you. Far out to sea, drifting or sinking. Those are mirror images of you. Exotic lands and weird people; all alone; or moving fiercely with the current, it’s you. Too scared to sail? Or too scared to look in the mirror? Run aground? You’ll see. Everywhere you go, the mirror will be held in your face. Sail out to sea and you’ll go nowhere. Sail into the mirror, and you’ll go everywhere.