For Robin.

A young man went and stood on the beach staring at the ocean

With no end in sight, he set out to conquer what was before him.

Intrigue got the best of him and no warnings of danger could sway him.

It took a certain kind of moxy to defeat a task that no amount of preparation

Would be able to calm the fears of an average man.

This man was not average.

A boat was acquired, equipment purchased.

With a dignified breath, the salty air filled his nostrils,

His gaze was set and his heart was in rhythm with the waves.

A crowd was gathered on the sand watching in wonder and fear.

They did not know what the water kept hidden underneath its surface.

How can a man and his boat tackle a vastness that had no proof of safety?

Firmly with their feet in the sand, the crowd watched the sailor with his sanguine smile

Advance toward a makeshift dock to the singular boat.

Untying the vessel from its connection to land, the captain rang the bell 3 times.

In a staccato like fashion, the first rang out.

Once for desire, twice for aspiration, and the third for faith.

The captain turned to the crowd and gave a confident wave.

He wanted those on the land to know that he would be okay.

He would remember each of them as he set forward into uncharted territory.

The people waved back. Some held back tears; others mixed theirs with the salty air.

They prayed for a safe journey and to one day hear the stories of what the captain overcame.

The people stayed until they could no longer see the boat on the horizon.

The man disappeared, but this moment wouldn’t be forgotten.

Stories popped up here and there about the man and how brave he was.

Scary stories of monsters and turbulent storms, made the hairs stick up on little children’s arms.

Jovial tales of mermaids and buried treasure left young men gazing in wonder at the ocean.

When would the captain return?

Years passed, the dock had washed away long ago. Where did the captain go?

As time wore on and others started to venture out to find the captain,

A young man found a boat stranded upon the shore of a lonely island.

A weather-worn journal was found by the captain’s wheel and it read:

“One day I stood and stared out at the ocean

Hoping to find an answer to a question I could not shake from my mind.

Like an itch I could not scratch, I set forth for enlightenment.

Days turned into months, which turned into years.

I overcame moments of intense fog, where I didn’t know where I was going.

Storms tossed and turned me in every direction, some threatened my life.

There were days of pristine ocean teeming with the most beautiful of creatures, and there were

Instances where the answer was slowly unraveling as the stars appeared before me.

A year ago the answer came to me and, by then, the sea had consumed me.

I bobbed with the waves in a seamless dance, and the thought of a motionless ground did not excite me.

I did not want to return to the people that said goodbye

In case they could not stand my warn-down appearance.

I stayed on my ship because we had been through so much together.

She was my life and I could never give her away.

I stayed close to the island but never stepped foot onto it.

I did this so that we could have a place to call home and to keep my boat sheltered from storms.

The sea tested me in the ways of fear and uncertainty,

But my boat gave me my strength and confidence.

She carried me when my legs couldn’t hold me up, and she guided me when I couldn’t see.

The question that I asked so many years ago is this, ‘What is the purpose of fear?’

The answer that I received after all my travels came from my experiences:

‘Fear drives us to conquer that which we are unaware of.

When we face obstacles, fear is the first thing to consume us. Uncertainty follows quickly behind.

I faced many fears in my adventures on the ocean, but with the desire to face each one no matter how

Perilous or how badly bloodied and bruised I got, I became more aware of my surroundings and how to

Overcome situations through the wisdom I gained during each event.

My aspirations grew as I searched for the answer.

Although there were days my fears almost took my hope away completely, faith is what kept me going.

One day, I asked myself, ‘What is there to be afraid of?’

Pain and suffering went away with time,

Confidence in my abilities grew as my boat and I helped each other.

Knowledge in my surroundings helped my faith flourish where others would falter.

So, in reality, even in the inevitability of death, which now plagues me, I fear nothing.

I have lived a life worthy of 10 men.

I have sought the answer to a question that afflicted me so long ago.

As I pass from this life, I think back to that young boy staring out at the vast ocean.

He will know pain and joy, failure and accomplishment.

His life will find fulfillment and there will be nothing to take that away from him.

All that will remain after I leave is the boat that cared for me as much as I cared for it.

She has as much of a story to tell as I do, 
And hers, although a different viewpoint, would agree with what I have written here.

I can rest at ease with her still by my side.”

The young man, after reading the journal, placed it back by the captain’s wheel.

He wanted the journal to stay with the boat, so as not to take the captain from his ship.

As the young man stared out the window from his boat’s wheelhouse,

His lungs filled with the salty air, and his gaze was set.

His heart rhythmically set with the waves and he set forth to conquer the path set before him.

His hand reached a rope hanging by the wall,

In a staccato-like fashion a bell sounded

Not once,

Not twice,

But three times.