The Ship
The below is an allegorical story drawing on lessons from “Three Decades in Thirty Days” including Fight for Yourself, Authority Figures are not Gods, and Listen to Yourself. Enjoy :)
A woman stood at the edge of the gangplank, looking up onto the wooden ship, relishing at the bow, the sails, and the stern that read “Folgen Sie Unseren Fusspuren!”. Men, women and children rushed past her, eager to board – with hope in their eyes, and swiftness under their feet.
Many boarded the ship for it’s stability, it’s sturdiness, it’s spoken about path to a “better life”.
A better life - a life that you can count on.
Isn’t that all that’s wanted? The woman thought to herself.
With luggage in her hand, and the wind blowing in her hair, she could not help but peer away from the direction that those were hustling towards. She looked past the ship and into the ocean. The rough, merciless, unforgiving ocean. At least, those are the stories that have been told to her. But when she looked upon it, she found peace, freedom, and wonder.
“Are you coming or staying?” A stern voice said behind her. And so, she moved.
--
The woman worked tirelessly throughout the years. Everyone who boarded the ship was expected to pull their weight, scaling the vessel ranks if ambitious enough. The higher the rank, the more prestige and control you were said to have among the ship. The girl, one day, wanted to lead the ship – to be a part of the direction the sails flew, to look onto the sea for rough waters, storms, and lands.
The woman would turn towards the sea during her days – an invisible pull - like a whisper floating past her ear. There was always a glimmer that caught her eyes on top of the waves. The more she looked, the more she wondered, what’s out there, where are we going, what will we find.
At first, she would ask the crew, “do you know where we’re going?” But they did not know. “We don’t care to know, we just want to work.” They would say.
She then asked the Ableman, “do you know where we’re going?” But they did not know. “Somewhere far, so we must take care of the ship.” They would say.
She then asked the seaman, “do you know where we’re going?” But they would not tell her. “East, West, North and South – that’s all you need to know.”
Frustrated, she then asked the captain, “do you know where we’re going?” But he just laughed. “Of course I do, I don’t need you asking those questions. Just leave it to me.”
The woman walked back to peer of the railing, looking into the sea beyond the waves as she always did. She dreamed of what the water felt like, those rough and unforgiving waters. She wondered if the waves would ever crash against another piece of land, or if they continued on forever. She felt a hole in her heart, and a death in her mind of never being able to know what lies ahead.
Could it be that scary? She would think.
---
One day, as the woman was looking out at the sea, she saw a shadow. A far away shadow. Bobbing in and out against the waves. What is that? She would think. Could it be…
LAND.
But the ship was sailing away from it. She looked up towards the bow. A black cloud coming towards them.
“Captain, Captain!” She alarmed.
“A storm ahead! And look – land over there! We must get to the land!”
The captain scoffed at the woman. “I know where we’re going, there is no land over there – that is merely an illusion in your mind. The storm - it will pass.”
But the woman looked again – there it was – land. Faint, obscure, maybe imagined. But her heart pulled her.
The waves crashed into the side of the boat. The crew toppled over. She peered below the ship – a tender boat rung around the side of the ship’s body. Could she make it? What about the others? Her friends? Her loyalty to the crew.
The woman pleaded with the crew, “Come with me – a storm is coming. The ship will not make it”.
“Where will we go?” They would say. “The ship is sturdy and safe, and the waters are unforgiving. We will die out there.”
“There is land, I know there is, far away from the storm, don’t you see it?” She would say.
But they did not see it. They looked hard and long, but could not bring their eyes to meet what the woman saw. The woman wondered if the captain was right, if the land was all in her head - if her heart craved to find something beyond the sea so deeply, that she was just tricking herself.
As the storm became closer, and the vision of land became further, the woman became more burdened. Was she stupid for thinking she could survive the sea? Was she foolish at seeing beauty where others saw danger? Was she reckless at the thought of leaving the one’s she loved behind, going alone and defenseless?
The winds picked up, pulling the woman’s hair and clothing in the many directions of the sails. The breeze lifted her, carried her – carried her burden, carried her wonder, carried her vision all the way down to the tender boat.
She hoisted herself onto the rackety boat and pulled the oars against her ribs. She looked up once more, honoring the ship and the crew for bringing her this far.
She sunk the rows deep into the sea, as deep as they could go, and pulled back with a force. Faster and faster, she swung the paddles against the waves as the water crashed against her skin. She was no longer wondering - but living. Living in the sea that she daydreamed of for so long. The waves began to pour into the boat – will it sink? Will it break? She could still go back. But the land…it was clearer now. She saw it, right ahead, beyond the rough waters. She wasn’t imagining it. She must move forward.
She looked back once more - the ship disappeared into the fog, underneath the black cloud. Thunder and lightning bolted down behind her – growing more distant.
Would the ship evade the storm? Would it be okay? What if I made a mistake? The woman thought.
But there was no turning back.
And just then, the waters calmed.
A clearing opened.
The sun landed on the ground. The ground that she imagined. The ground that she visioned. The ground that had always been there, waiting for her.
“Fight for yourself.” She said. “Fight for yourself and the life you want. If you do this, you will never lose.”
