bon voyage

today in counselling i came up with the analogy that i'm on a voyage, sailing my little boat through the swells, storms, fogs, sunshine and all the other things that life can throw at me...there is no paradise i'm striving for...life is a voyage and will be different at every turn...

i can't control the weather but i can maintain my vessel so it is at it's optimum to take the batterings that the sea will throw at it...

i can try and predict storms with charts and experience but sometimes a huge event will change the weather and i'll have to batten down the hatches and survive...

i can mark out safe havens for myself, plot the location of lighthouses and keep my sails, paintwork and tiller in good condition to help me on my way...

sometimes i will get blown totally off course and have to find my way back again...sometimes i will get blown totally off course and it will be the right thing to do...

sometimes the sea will be kind, the wind strong and the sun shining...sometimes it will be bleak, becalmed and foggy with no means of navigation and at those times i will seek out my lighthouses and look to the stars to guide me...

sometimes i will be able to retreat to a safe haven and weather the storm...

there's only room in this boat for 3...simon isaac and me...everyone else is there by request and at my permission...there will be no stowaways but maybe a ships cat...