Seasick!
Dealing with Disorientation
Introduction
Has your world been moving around like the uneven surface of the ocean? Are you feeling disoriented by the shifting? In this issue of The Adventure of Reflection I explore disorientation through a metaphor of sea sickness. Thanks for climbing aboard this crazy boat with me!
A Minute of Motivation
This Moment
Life is hard by the yard; but by the inch, life’s a cinch!
Sometimes we try to deal with all of our challenges at the same time. Uncertainty about the unknown and worry about the future make living today enormously difficult. But living today, and especially this moment, will make life much more tolerable. For to deal with this moment takes far less strength and courage than to attempt to deal with next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow. Doing tomorrow’s work today leaves today’s work undone tomorrow.
Do today’s work today, and tomorrow’s work tomorrow. Deal with life one small, manageable piece at a time. Deal with today, today. Leave tomorrow for tomorrow.
You can travel great distances if you’ll just move a little closer to your goals today, and every day.
Note. Originally published in 1992 and republished here. I chose this motivational message because it helps deal with disorientation to just take life one moment at a time.
Enjoy Life More
Focus on the Horizon
I had an epic adventure recently. A few members of my family and I chartered a deep- sea fishing trip off the coast of Destin, Florida. Six courageous sea-goers joined a captain and a guide on a six-hour journey on waters too rough for those with more sense. With a fresh box of motion-sickness pills and one taken dutifully “prior to the activity” as instructed on the package, I was confident I would be fine.
And I was fine until we were about 20 miles offshore. At that point I was closely observing the outside of the ship in-between rounds of fishing. The good-spirited guide suggested I was just “chumming” the water to attract the fish.
Undaunted, I fished every chance I could, only stopping when my arms became too tired to reel in fish. I had successfully caught the first “keeper” and only white snapper, an Almaco jack, a reef trigger fish, a lizard fish, and many vermillion snappers. I was also the recipient of advice for how to cope with my motion sickness: Focus on the horizon, not the waves.
Always on the lookout for a good metaphor, I have been thinking about that advice. There is much in my world that seems unsteady. I have been having trouble “getting my bearings” – especially with my professional responsibilities; I don’t yet have my feet on solid ground. Perhaps there is something in your world like that, something that has shifted and now seems uncertain.
What helps me enjoy these uneven times is to focus on the horizon. I may not know what my professional world will bring but I can plan things for the coming months, events upon which I can steady my gaze and calm my queasiness. I have plans for trips to see family, trips to the woods, and a kitchen to finish redecorating. The boat may be rocking and rolling but the horizon is stable. To enjoy life more, focus on the horizon and not on the unpredictable waves around you.
Faith Corner
“The Spirit of God was moving above the waters.” (See Genesis 1: 2)
Most people, whether Christians or not, have heard the story of Jesus walking on the water. After our deep-sea adventure, some of us were talking about this story. I suggested Jesus wasn’t actually walking on the water but above it. The surface of the water would be too uneven for steady walking. I picture Him walking in a level path above the waves, not up and down on a carnival path.
I decided to consult the original Greek word used in Matthew’s account of Jesus walking “on” the water. It turns out the Greek word translated as “on” the water can also be translated as “over” or “above” the water. Funny how human translators chose the word “on” - putting Jesus’ feet in contact with the water, rather than in a position of authority above it.
Which got me thinking about the creation account from Genesis where the Spirit of God is hovering over the waters. Consulting the original Hebrew, the word for “over” can also be translated as “on.” In both the Jesus account and the creation account the authority of God is above the water but can be translated as on the water.
In the book of Revelation, which is full of symbolic imagery, the seas represent the earthly world, in contrast with God’s spiritual realm. Putting the pieces from Genesis, Matthew, and Revelation together suggests a message of God’s authority above the world. John recorded Jesus’ words: “I have overcome the world!” (see John 16:33). Jesus doesn’t need the support of the water; He walks above it!
When the boat was tossing and turning there were birds flying smoothly above us. The rough surface of the water was irrelevant to them. Oh, to live like that!
Dear Lord, the world around me feels unsteady and unpredictable, but You are above all of that. Help me to look to You in the midst of my rough waters and see You in calm authority over my life. Thank You for walking above the uneven parts of my life and helping me to walk with You there. Amen.
Poetry Pause
Sinking
The relentless and intense storm of COVID
Has tossed the waves and cracked my boat –
I’m sinking.
Piercing the all-encompassing din of the storm,
There is a Voice,
A familiar Voice:
“Come to Me,
Get out of your boat,
And come to Me.”
The Voice is calm, steady, resolute, persistent –
“Come.”
I cannot will myself out of the boat.
In days it will no longer hold me.
I cannot fix my boat.
I cannot stop the storm.
I’m sinking.
Again,
The Voice:
“Come – Walk on the water with Me.”
I need this boat!
I love this boat!
You gave me this boat!
Now it’s broken beyond repair.
Where is my new boat?
I need a new boat!
Again,
The Voice:
“Come – Walk on the water with Me.
You do not need a boat.”
I’m frozen. I’m scared.
I’m crippled by sadness.
Who am I without this boat?!
Again,
The Voice:
“You are Mine.
I will not let you drown.”
And then
The Question –
“Do you trust Me?”
Ah, the Question –
THE question.
And then
The Offer –
“Take My hand,
See, I AM Lord of Wind and Wave!
Walk with Me!”
And then –
My question –
Did You bring this storm?
Did you crack my boat?
Silence.
And then
THE question –
Again –
“Do you trust Me?”
Silence.
I’m thinking.
The Voice - “You don’t need a boat.”
I think I do.
I think I DO need a boat.
“Yes, you think you do.
You are trying to be your own boat.”
I’m trying to be my own boat?!
“Yes – And I want you to stop.
Consider the birds -
They need no boat;
Only My Spirit
To guide and lift them.
Be a bird
And walk above the water
With Me.
You need no boat –
And the water is a distraction.
Come!
There is no sinking with Me!”
Yes, Lord.
I surrender
To Your Uplifting Spirit.
No more sinking.
By Cindy MacGregor, May 8, 2021
Note. COVID brought the end to the university partnership that had sustained my professional role in an EdD program of which I had been a part since 1997. I wrote this poem at the end of the last semester of doctoral courses for the last cohort of students. I have been trying to figure out how to walk above the water without a boat since then.
Old Mom to Young Mom
Teach Endurance
After we got back to the dock from our deep-sea fishing trip, the captain came to talk to me. He had been watching from his perch above the deck, steering the ship from place to place, and observed how seasick I was. I think he was impressed by my commitment to “fishing through” the misery. He told me that most people when they get sick, will tell him to “turn this boat around!” and head back to land as soon as possible. Not me! I wanted to enjoy the experience – I also knew it was almost a two-hour ride back to land. The most logical thing to me was to make the best of it and not ruin the fun others were having. And, when I wasn’t retching, I had a really great time!
My parents worked hard, no matter if they felt like it or not. Things needed to be done. The rewards of harvest only came after many hours of hard work over several months of waiting. Instant gratification is not possible for farmers. I don’t expect it for myself.
What are your children learning about gratification? Do you hand them money without them having to work for it? Do you bail them out of difficulties when things get “too hard” for them? Or do you encourage them to “stick with it” and reward them only for completed work?
Suffering isn’t something to be avoided or something from which escape is always wise. As an old mom to young parents, are you holding your children to expectations that build their endurance? Sometimes the stability of the shore is far away, and the best choice is to find joy in the misery. The stories are better that way, too!
Dear Dr. Mac
If you would like to hear what I think about something or share your reactions to what I have written, please send an email to: drcjmacgregor@outlook.com; I will respond via email or in this section of a future newsletter, or both. I hope to hear from you!
You can find all my previous posts at https://cindymacgregor.substack.com/archive