You can't take laptops on boats

My parents' defining moment was the moon landing.

When you see one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, you grow up learning "Anything is possible."

My defining moment was September 11th.
I grew up learning, "Yes, anything is possible - and you should be very afraid of it because it is not always good, and not in your control."

I grew up with security cameras, x-ray machines, and bag searches in an attempt to keep us safe.
I grew up with ballet classes, piano recitals, high-stakes volleyball tournaments, speech and debate competitions, foreign language classes, and hyper-competitive softball leagues all in an attempt to gain a foothold on this world that was so out of control.

Maybe if we do enough, we can be enough.

We developed medications to block out our worries and fears, and started prescribing them more frequently than antibiotics.
Nobody has time to be weak.
Nobody can risk an emotion.

We developed social networks, hoping that maybe if we knew everything about everybody at every second, we could be in control, be informed, and be safe and secure.

Little did we know that in our quest to know so much, we would come to know so little. In our search for safety and comfort, we would find loneliness and anxiety. Maybe in knowing more about the world, we know less about ourselves.

You can't take laptops on boats.

On a sailboat, you're out of control. You're at the mercy of nature.
You become part of something bigger than yourself.
You learn to communicate, reach for a common goal, let go, and fine peace in the chaos.

That's what we're all after.
Peace.

Yes, anything is possible.
Yes, we are out of control.
Yes, you may be scared - but I can tolerate scared.
What I cannot do is sad and lonely.

It is in facing our fears and releasing control that we find peace.
Accepting and leaning into the chaos.
Breathing in deep and exhaling the wind that unfurls the sails.
Closing down the laptop and looking at the faces in front of you,
Trusting that today is enough,
That you are enough
Because anything is possible.