I yam, what I yam.

I am not a sailor. Clearly. I love the water, and boats. But I do not sail. My first brushes with sailors are probably not what you think. My earliest memories reside with the little guy on the Cracker Jack Boxes. I am betting his name was Jack.

And then of course… the first Mr. Muscle…. “Popeye the Sailor Man.” Geez, was it me, or did that guy really have one heck of a pop-eye? That’s probably why he worked out so hard. So he wouldn’t get bullied in grade school, about his Pop Eye. Like. By Bluto, or someone.

And then, my big favorite. Watching Gene Kelley and Frank Sinatra, in “On The Town” as they danced to New York, New York.

But. My first memories of real sailors were the guys in the Army-Navy Football Game. My Dad was Army in WWII. So we always watched the game on TV, and we certainly always rooted for Army. But, you would see a ton of little sailor men, in their sailor suits, in the stands. I can remember thinking the Army guys should have worn their battle clothes. Like the little green army men with all their helmets and everything. I think my Uncle Jack might have been a sailor. I know he had a tattoo on his forearm. I always thought it was cool.

Yeah. Sailing.

I only bring this up because I read this quote this morning by Jim John. I guess I’m going to have to trust the guy about this, as I mentioned earlier, I do not sail. He said… “It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”

How we go depends on our sails. Not the wind.
This makes sense to me. He asserts that our lives are headed in the direction we point them. We may have some gusty winds at times. Even head on. But the path of our boat it determined by how we point our sails. At least. I think that is what he is saying. Me. Reading between the lines.

You know, these days, we get hit with a lot of information. I just read (Yes. More information about information)…. that in one week, we are exposed to more information than the people who lived a hundred years ago, experienced in their entire lifetimes. In one week. Blam-o.

In any given day, I am shocked, amazed, slam-dangled by the actions of those in power. I get upset, and worried, by all of this. The things they say. The things they do. The legislation they pass. The horrible displays of character.

Our leaders are supposed to act like leaders. I mean it. They are supposed to set an example. If they want this country to be great, again, or whenever …. they should display the highest moral standards. We should be able to mirror those measures, as citizens. Leaders are supposed to lead. But they lie. They degrade. They say unkind words. They cheat. They pick fights. They bully.

And here we are. Facing that very strong headwind. Every day.

I truly believe that we have to keep pointing our sails in the right direction. Despite the hot air that is coming right at us. We have to be stronger, and bigger, and better. I have to believe that someday it will make a difference. If we dedicate our lives to the preservation of equity, and the bravery of compassion.

Pointing our sails. In the right direction.

 

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“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.” 
― R.J. Palacio, Wonder

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“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to 
succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” 
― Abraham Lincoln

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“It is not titles that honour men, but men that honour titles.” 
― Niccolò Machiavelli

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