Come sail away
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008
Because we're keeping things simple this week, I wanted to share a memorably simple - or is it simply memorable? Whatever... - moment with you. I tend to get reflective whenever I stand beside a large body of water. This day was no different as I watched our kids bounce through the surf, seemingly absorbing the energy of this place. The complexities of life didn't seem to matter a whole lot here. In their place, I held on to a shortened list of priorities:
- Make sure they're safe.
- Make sure they're happy.
- Make sure they remember what it felt like to be here.
So when this sailboat slowly came into view, I was immediately touched by how elemental it seemed. Some wind, a sail, a whole lot of water, and a bunch of time. Mix liberally and enjoy. I thought it might make a nice composition, something to help me return to that simple place in the weeks and months ahead, after we all returned to the real world.
Your turn: Where's this craft headed? Care to invent a story for the passengers?
I'm not sure I can manage a whole story but...
ReplyDelete... this craft is going to freedom. A place with no address, no post code... maybe no citizens. It will sail and be carried, it will trick the skipper into thinking they have control... it will ride the waves of freedom to an eternal future.
Makes me yearn for my sailing teaching days... there's nothing better than teaching the route to freedom.
What a lovely photo. I love your theme "simple." Now I just have to get busy and find some photos.
ReplyDeleteYour children are very lucky.
ReplyDeleteYour readers are too.
I enjoy your judicious and exacting, "flowy" words that always carry meaning. Props, Carmi. Aloha-
There is nothing like sailing. Nothing.
ReplyDeleteWe owned a small boat in grad school and would sail every weekend it was in the water. It is amazing how sailing transports you. Everything else disappears from your mind. To live completely in the present. What a gift.
no story today, but love the shot. I just love water- wish I lived closer to it.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE boat pictures like that, for me they touch an element of life that I can't describe, but makes me feel alive.
ReplyDeleteSo very beautiful,Carmi! I feel tranquil when I see this photo.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I'm at the ocean's edge, I flash on the opening scene from the Hindi movie Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara (I Did Not Kill Gandhi). The scene is a stretch of beach, deserted except for the two principal characters and the voiceover goes (according to the subtitles at least):
ReplyDelete"In loneliness, or illusions of greatness, go and face the sea
And hear the restless waves speak
Who says you are alone?
An ocean's vastness will ask
'You aren't bigger than me are you?'
Baba taught me this from times when I was a child
He made me strike a friendship with the sea
Yes, we very often talk to the sea,
For hours together, in silence..."
I don't think I can put it any better than that.
yes - you presented a great pic, I will try to do it justice with a story.
ReplyDeleteTBC
how did nicole's ad sneak in there , were you sleepy? hjmmm
ReplyDeleteNetchick schmetchick
David: I approved the comment spam because I wanted to track it back to its source.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've done that, I'm inclined to leave it up here...just as an example of the kind of thing I deal with each and every day. I don't often leave such drivel up, but this time I'm thinking I just might.
Yeah, I know: I'm odd that way :)
There were four of them at the start of the trip, a chartered cruise from St. John to Marathon, Fl. and after ten days they were one. One crew with one vision and becoming one family, again. Mended were the broken years, stitched and repaired with tiny stitches as a sail maker would repair a strong but storm battered sail. Healed were the scrapes and bumps of years in too crowded spaces, washed away by the waves and dried by the sun. The easy smiles and laughter have returned along with the hugs and caring exchanges. At dinner they bowed their heads and thanked God for a second chance like this. Shalom descended upon them as the sun set astern.
ReplyDelete"remember what it felt like to be here" Doesn't get much more important than that..great way to put it!
ReplyDeleteI know you're from London, Ont and I had to wonder when I saw the photo (sis lives in London and they're WAY up to HERE in SNOW right now, as you know), then saw "florida!"
Please give us a snow pic, for your friend here in LA!!
Such a pretty view ... sailing away to somewhere private to sit alone on the ocean and watch the birds and other boats and the watchers on the shore...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful - the way the white sail cuts into the sky.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture. Heidi sent me. Off to see Christy.
ReplyDeleteThat is a perfect photo from which to create a photo realistic painting. It's perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd your priorities were spot on, Carmi. That is a good recipe for enjoying life with the people you love.
I'm loving your beautiful pictures of your trip to Deerfield Beach.
Have a lovely weekend.
Hello Carmi!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful photo! We love it! It is so serene.
When I think about the occupants of the sail boat though; I cannot help but think about the movie titled "What about Bob?"
"I'm sailing!!!"
Terri
that picture doesn't even look real. The color is so vibrant and the scene so serne. Aaah.
ReplyDeleteWhere was this craft headed ?
ReplyDeleteFor a three hour tour.
A three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the minnow would be lost.
With Mulligan, his gay lover, the Skipper too.
The dot-com millionaire, and his botox, face lifted fake tan wife.
The porn movie star, the meth-lab professor and Terri-Ann.
Here on Mulligans Isle!
Sherwood Schwartz