Are you anchored by your stubborn beliefs or ready to set sail?

Have you gazed at the ocean from a marina? The gentle swells recede into the deep blue calm, increasing your yearning to sail away from the crowded marina to explore and to discover. Discover what? Many will know only if they venture out into the waters. Perhaps they’ll sail into new destinations and hidden coves where they’ll find more of what they seek. Instead, most choose to remain in their berthed boats. The congested marina, the pollution, the noise, the smell, and the lack of space – this, they have decided, is their world. It is hard to make them believe that there might be better worlds out there.

They’ve been anchored for so long that they’ve forgotten the purpose of the boat – to help them sail and see different places. “This marina,” they say, “is where I have been for many years. I belong here. I feel secure in my boat here.” They spend a lot of time sprucing up their boats with fancy fittings to make it look better than other boats. They try hard to shield it against the flow of life, believing that they will be protected from every possible calamity. Security and stability are their life mantras. What they prefer to overlook is that life is rather unpredictable. It comes with no guarantees. They convince themselves that they are shielded against the inexorable flow of life and its unpredictability. Are you one of them?

Does your eye return to the open ocean now and then? Do you feel a deep need to expand, even if you don’t quite understand why? Everyone feels this way and the need is met only when you nourish what needs to be nourished – your inner self. Otherwise, you will continue to try and quench the need to expand through external means. None of them help, though, because there are always physical boundaries that will stop you.

Many times, you might stand in your boat wondering why it is not moving, all the while anchoring it in your chase for the mirage of stability and security. The only way to grow is to understand the true nature of life, lift your anchor and sail out into the ocean. You can study the waters and protect yourself to a certain extent, but you will need to meet the challenges of the open ocean head-on. You can learn and develop in life only by experiencing the unexpected.

Imagine this, if you will. You have managed to lift your boat’s rusted anchor. It has been quite an effort. Your boat groans to life. You slowly sail out. Away from the clogged marina and its polluted waters. Away from those you have lived with for years, packed together like sardines. You have prepared as much as you can before setting sail. The ocean is now yours to explore. Suddenly, the potential for adventure seems infinite. You start enjoying the present moment naturally. You realize that the past and future exist only in words, never in reality. Every moment becomes precious. Feeling the salty air and the rocking motion of the boat is exhilarating. You take pleasure in adjusting your sails to catch the wind. When the sea turns choppy, you throw a prayer to Nature’s forces and meet your unfolding life as an adventure. A storm is not debilitating but another experience to learn from. You emerge stronger and more resilient with each experience. Soon, even without trying, you start meeting other sailors and learn new things from them. You might even join them on their adventures. Your life on the marina recedes rapidly. You feel wildly alive. Are you this person?

Now imagine yourself back at the marina, sitting in your static boat. Similar to scores of others who have also never sailed out. You remain anchored, staunch in your belief that this is the best possible life you can live. You remain blissfully ignorant of the ocean’s wonders. You exist, bound by the same routines and places as long as you live, sighing at life’s unpredictability. Just like the others you live with. You look at those who sail away and call them reckless. How can they risk their lives like that! You caution others against doing so because the ocean is too big, too unsafe and too dangerous. The marina is the only safe place, you insist. Still, you are envious when you hear of the new places that explorers have seen and experienced. You remain bound by your own beliefs of security and stability, even as your carefully decorated boat starts to rust and sink. As you grow older, you regret not sailing and exploring more but it is too late. Are you this person?

How long has your boat remained anchored in the same place by your stubborn beliefs? The water can sink your boat or help it float. How are you going to use it? Are you ready to set sail and discover that there are no boundaries to your inner expansion? When you unfurl your sail, you will understand that growth comes from movement and not by the innumerable anchors that immobilize you. Bon voyage!