We rest here while we can, but we hear the ocean calling in our dreams,
And we know by the morning, the wind will fill our sails to test the seams,
The calm is on the water and part of us would linger by the shore,
For ships are safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. — John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928
Ah, our dreams, our dreams. Our dreams call to us no matter how much we try to repress them, reinvent them, shut them out, or ignore them. Like a ship chafing at the ropes, being dragged about by the waves and the tides, we get called again by our dreams.
The ropes, the ties, the everyday grind – in whatever form(s) they take hold us back, however I don’t believe that needs to be the end of the story. In the same way that a boat nudges away at the wharf or the various bowgraces, fenders, and buffers until it becomes comfortable albeit pinioned, it is possible to get some of the initial work done towards fulfilling the dreams. Can’t get to Paris, but can learn French. Can’t build a house, but could learn to use power tools by making dog kennels, or helping out friends with renovations. This is not being safe in harbour – a compromise – rather these actions are about getting the background learning done so that if and when the opportunity occurs it can be grabbed in both hands because the preparation has been done.
The achievement of a dream is normally the result of learning something and getting very good at doing something. It usually takes 10,000 hours to learn how to do something really well, the sooner you get started the better.
It’s not always possible or even appropriate to get stuck into pursing the dream to the fullest extent we’d like, but it is completely inappropriate, I believe, to abandon dreams. That is not what they’re for.
Manifesto
26. Every day take action. Every small step counts.
34. Every day focus on your dreams.
48. Every day there are things you can’t change. You can change the way you think about them and deal with them.
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2 Comments
it’s my birthday today and a friend wrote this poem in my card for me – it struck a massive chord so I googled it to find out who wrote it, only to see you chose to put it up as a blog post this exact same day… how odd, how wonderful! thanks.
Hey Sam, happy birthday to you, and thanks for stopping by. It’s a great poem, and I hope you feel inspired to ease out of the harbour and find out just what your ’ship’ can do. Congratulations and many happy returns.