Change the Sails

“Although we cannot change the direction of the wind, we can adjust our sails.”

Ever feel off course? At the mercy of the ever changing winds of circumstance? This simple thought reminds me that though I cannot choose what happens to me, I get a choice in how I respond. And it is that choice that will often determine the direction in which I will go. Victoriously over the sea, or crashed on the rocks. Victor Frankl worte in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, that,”…everything [can be] taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Frankl found a freedom and a renewed purpose as he quit wondering why his struggle and began to consider rather what was he going to do to bring about a meaningful outcome. I think that the biblical narrative of Joseph really shows at many levels this ability to set our sails. As Joseph stood before his brothers, he declared that, “What you meant for evil, God has meant for for good.” I see in this not just a simplistic generalization, but rather a deep spiritual conviction that he had decided he was more than his events. Though imprisoned, he was not a prisoner. Though hated by his brothers, he was not a reject. And though only second to the Pharaoh himself, he was not ultimately in charge. Joseph set his sails to accommodate even the fiercest winds of adversity. Frankl could not change the fact that racism and hateful persecution had blown into his life, but he could adjust how he responded to it. And even though, to a certain degree, we cannot change what happens to us, we do at minimum have control over how we respond. I think Ella Wheeler Wilcox in her poem ”One Ship Sails East” captures a great truth:

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
‘Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

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lovewillbringustogether Says:

June 25, 2009 at 3:11 PM

That’s so Good.

‘Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

if only more people could see and live by that.

if only more people were able to take the ‘rudder’ of our souls or even knew where such is within them.

Then maybe we would learn more how to take responsibility for our lives and know how to better ‘steer’ them and direct them.

Got any personal observations on how we (you) do that??

Personal practical advice that has worked can be a great information source for others.

LandryRB Says:

June 26, 2009 at 3:58 AM
1) I think we must look at where we are in relationship to where we want to be: financially, emotionally, physically, etc.

2) We must identify the beliefs, behaviors and attitudes (worldview)that have been dominant in leading us where we are. For example: “I need to be right, life is about having fun, things need to be exact, etc.”

3) Challenge those specific thoughts. Adapt a new thought and attempt a new behavior. “Do one thing differently”

4) See where that takes us and adapt as necessary.

1. lovewillbringustogether Says:
  
  June 26, 2009 at 12:30 PM
  all good suggestions!
  
  my ‘issue’ though is that there seems to be a strong element of both ‘chance’ and of following the ‘world’ (or ‘me’) in them.
  
  it’s hard for me to see ONLY the hand of God, or my own soul, in those.
  
  Maybe it’s a matter of developing ‘trust’ in Him as a ‘director’ of all life?
  
  but i have to balance that with the certain knowledge that very few seem to ever find a ‘true’ path and only ever bring forth good fruits on their ‘voyage’.
  
  sometimes i guess it is a matter of having to do ‘something’ over nothing?
  
  while carefully observing our results we are getting.
  
  <B