Out to Sea

As I awoke this morning I consulted with an app on my Kindle, Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening.   This has become my habit on leisurely mornings.  Today I was looking for a quote that was mentioned at Yoga on Wednesday.  Instead I found a different entry, a story about a troubled man who in his frustration and confusion finally turned to seek guidance from a sage.

The sage listened to the man and looked deeply into his eyes with great compassion.  He offered the man a choice.  He could either have a map or a boat.  The man looking at the other  confused and troubled pilgrims around him chose the boat.  The sage, kissing him on the forehead said, “Go then.  You are the boat.  Life is the sea.”

Indeed, we are the boat on the sea of life.  Everything that we need, we already have.  We connect with our life course through our breath.   Our breath takes us out to sea.  Our ability to listen inside and connect to our breath is our map.

I didn’t find the quote I was looking for, but I found the passage that I needed for today; a lovely reminder that as the new year approaches I have everything that I need.  I am complete on the sea of life.