The south coast.

The sun arcs overhead. Waves rolling out like freshly floured pastry on the shore. The ancient traditions of worshipping on the sea shore. It’s the one place most people can find a space in the corners of their minds for themselves.

Each of us chases the waves in our own way.

Living life out, breathing life in.

It’s a prayer for ourselves, voiced in the infinite voice of angels.

That is the only way we know how to do it.

Manifesto
05. Every day is now. The present moment.
23. Every day retain your personal power. It belongs to you. No one else.
39. Every day trust that there is a bigger picture. You are a part of it even if you may not know what it is.

If I was a little kid, I think I’d be ready to give this scooter a blast, even thought the park looks like it could do with some drainage. Jump on the scooter, and zoom! The world’s your own. Of course it is all the time, it’s that most guys figure they need an excuse like a mid-life crisis before they buy a scooter.

When I was a kid we didn’t have such coolness to sit on and rock back and forth. We had some kind of framework – like a cube made up of wooden ladders – we called it a ‘jungle gym’. We’d put planks along the rungs to form platforms and next day we’d move them to make a fort, and next day to make a ship. Underneath the jungle gym there was a big patch of gritty sand. I don’t recall a single child being hurt in any way from falls or otherwise. Just plenty of opportunity of creative play. I’m unsure whether such things exist these days, there are scooters.

Manifesto
09. Every day learn something new.
24. Every day is a journey. Not a destination.
32. Every day have a laugh.

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.