 Roz Speaking Out (Hawaii 2008) July 29 Update
Philosophy Friday….. There has been some talk recently about individuals doing the right thing for the Earth is good, but it’s not enough. Little actions are important, but given the scale of the challenges that we now face, we all need to step up our efforts to a higher level. I tend to think of it as a “ladder of influence”. The bigger the action, the further the ripples of change will spread. At the entry level we have the basic actions that anybody who has even a glimmer of environmental awareness will do – recycling, turning off lights, not leaving the tap running while you are brushing your teeth, etc. Above that we have the second level; environmental actions that take place in public – using a re-usable grocery bag or water bottle or coffee cup, installing solar panels, choosing a super-compact or hybrid car. Today I listened to “Even the Sun Will Die“, an interview with the spiritual teacher and author of “The Power of Now”.
My present moment looks like this: I am being blown off course, having spent the whole day rowing against current and across wind to achieve a scant 6 miles. I am now approaching my seventh day caught in this particular oceanic mousetrap, and am in fact further away from my destination than I was 5 days ago So I'm doing my best to accept the present moment, exactly as it is. I am feeling a little more philosophical about it than I might have been without Mr Tolle's spiritual guidance. I am picturing my thoughts and emotions as clouds, drifting across the sky of my mind. I am watching them float by, rather than engaging with the feelings of frustration or anxiety.  Barnacling Day 85: Clean Hull and Clean Hair, But I’d Rather Be Rowing.
The trying times continue. I have now been stuck on the same small patch of ocean for the last 5 days. I advance a bit, the current pushes me back. I push again, the current pushes me back again. Repeat ad nauseam. I could use a good stiff breeze to help get me out of here. It will arrive eventually. But I don’t yet know when. Meanwhile, I decided that if today was not going to be a good day for miles, maybe it could be a good day in some other ways. I donned face mask and snorkel and hopped overboard to scrub barnacles. It didn’t really need doing, in truth. The rudder had a few outcrops of goosenecks, and there was a row of them along the chine (the pointy ridge that runs the length of the boat’s bottom), but other than that the hull was miraculously barnacle-free.  July 26, 2011
Today was another day of much work for little reward, as I once again pitted myself against the relentless current that has thwarted my progress for the last few days. This is where I almost wish I had a crewmate. Crews of two typically alternate shifts, each rower rowing for two hours while the other rests. It’s a brutal regimen, but it does mean that the crew can push on through a current because there is somebody always at the oars. I, on the other hand, go backwards when hunger or tiredness force me to take a break. And so I end up rowing the same piece of ocean again and again.  Day 83: Urgent – Laughter Needed Joan – you are a genius. You have absolutely hit the nail on the head. Some levity is PRECISELY what I need right now. All this earnest save-the-world stuff, combined with getting my ass kicked by this Indian Ocean, has led to spirits being, if not low, then somewhere around sea level. So some jokes or funny stories from my readers would be tremendously welcome. I could do with a few good belly laughs. Bring them on! Here are a few smiles I found in a file on my laptop, just to get the ball rolling:  Day 82: The Chaps Downstairs
I’ve been trying, but I just can’t regard the chaps downstairs as dinner. Some of you have been suggesting that I should get the fishing line out while I have the chance and the mahi mahi are milling around beneath my boat, but I just can’t do it. There have been at least five fish, possibly more, keeping me company today. Occasionally they leap into the air and do a backflip, but mostly they just mooch around a couple of feet beneath the surface. They are very pretty. I don’t know if mahi mahi can iridesce, or if they just catch the light occasionally, but sometimes they seem to glow with a silvery blue aura. |
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