[I posted this in a conversation with a previous incarnation of Cherade. (hi, honey!) It’s not at all my usual style of writing and it surprised me. At the time, I thought it might have been written for her. Perhaps it was, but right now it speaks to me.]
Your job on this planet is to steer the sturdy vessel of your choices through challenging or calm waters and ever toward a life that is beautiful enough to deserve you. You are not required to sail alone but always must steer toward that for which your soul yearns. Someone else’s safe harbor might shipwreck you. “Come home,” they’ll cry, “It is beautiful here; peaceful. Come rest awhile.” They mean no harm; their ship’s design is different than yours. Those sharp rocks are to them soft as clouds.
Be brave enough to follow uncharted currents; what monsters you meet are your teachers. Do not fear drifting far from shore; even as you search the horizon, a new truer sun is born inside you. Stop to visit any true paradise you encounter; much can be learned from those who are at home on this earth. Have you learned yet how to tell a false from true paradise? Look to the eyes and the smiles of the inhabitants. Look for the subtle strain etched into a face by shallow cheer, the deep relaxation of true joy. You may find your paradise before you have gained the skills you need to thrive there. Sail on. Nothing is lost to those who stay their soul’s student.
Most importantly, do not allow anyone else to control your vessel. They cannot find your home, as you cannot find theirs. Do not allow your deck to become cluttered with those who refuse to sail their own lives. The sinking of your overladen ship serves no one. If your vessel becomes unseaworthy through neglect or storms, accept rescue but rebuild, always rebuild. No sea is entirely unpopulated, though some choose not to recognize those with whom they share the water. With great luck and heart, you may find one person to sail beside. Treasure the fellow sailors who cheer you on when you tire and long for any island at any cost. Teach your children well and launch them without slipping your burdens onto those clean decks. They will seem unacceptably fragile. They are not, unless you weaken them with your doubts.
One day you will know what makes the moon smile as you pass and the waves laugh so hard that they shake your heart. It is this: the home that you seek is not on solid ground. Home is the sailing.