Wednesday Quote - The Floating Harpsichord - Advent 2016

Boats and mediation can go together. I believe there is something about trying to work with the forces of the natural world that effect us, that can bring us back into "natural" alignment. As Aquinas, among others has pointed out, the world is God's first book. In some ways, like Mondays' post, do we allow ourselves to see it as spiritual work. Do we allow our lives to be a spiritual practice - a place we expect to meet the divine?

Enjoy and Blessed be,

Joel

        Some people (guess who among them) started this solo sail hoping and expecting to find clarity in some of their soul searching. The solo sailor is either too busy, too tired, or too elated to do any meditating. A drive during rush hour in an automatic automobile is probably more appropriate for meditating. There is a situation where there is nothing one can do. Turn off the radio and that is the time to meditate. For many of us civilized western people it is the only time that we have no piped-in music or bosses, wives [does this mean husbands are not a distraction?], children, telephone, singing birds, or beautiful nature, food, drinks, exercises, set, etc. to distract us. The only thing we have to do is steer the car. That is enough distraction to create an atmosphere for meditating. To have to concentrate on meditating can be in itself very distracting. There are some people who even want to take that single moment of tranquility away from us and who advise such things as "share a ride" or increased public transportation. Let's do the meditating or soul-searching behind our two hundred horse-power, but do not single-hand to Hawaii for your answers! Anyway, I am not going to talk into this tape recorder about my soul. That is my private business as long as I'm alone on my boat."* (Peter H. Strykers, M.D. The Floating Harpsichord: One Sailor's Log and Manuals for Solo-Sailing and Solo-Medicine. Ten Speed Press, 1987. p. 164)

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*Stryker's middle section of his book is a daily log that he edited from spoken tapes (and yes, he did take a harpsichord and play it on the passage. I think this section gives you an idea of how delightful this book is to read). I think the above quote says that he probably did some more soul searching than he thought, but not as much as he wanted. It is interesting to note that Bernard Moitessier seems to have done a lot of it during the Long Way. And this Friday's film, I think, points out how living a different way can and does change us.