A place of life exploration, sailing journeys, and piece of thought
Resolve and commitment weight heavily in determining the success of a mission.
Today the US bombed Iran’s nuclear weapons factories with decisive action through a secret deployment of B2s.
Today a personal relationship strengthens rather than crumbles.
Resolve and commitment are necessary for the success of life missions.
(written June 21, 2025)
“Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always a high priority in whatever I was doing.” – Chuck Yeager
That comes from the first test pilot to break the sound barrier. I am happy to follow in his footsteps and choose fun as an important priority in life every day. May tomorrow be a day filled with some measure of fun!
A picture worth a thousand words. What picture springs to mind? For me it is a mental picture of a storm rolling through. We experienced an incredible range of weather yesterday for our load day during our move. Muggy in the morning (so much that you could practically swim in the humidity) to hot and sunny to sudden downpours preceded by dozens of lightning strikes and rounds of rolling thunder. It all concluded magnificently with a breathtaking double rainbow. That whole day took my breath away, like the roller coaster ride that defines our past year. Uncomfortable, gorgeous, warm, violent, intense (oh, yes, the garage flooded with our stuff in it right before it was going to be loaded onto the van), working together, dealing with tensions, culminating in God’s perfect rainbow… He has not and will never forsake us. His plan is perfect.
The rainbow we witnessed today was a half rainbow, the kind most of us see in the sky stretching from one side of the horizon to the other. Interestingly, it is truly only half of a rainbow. A complete rainbow is an entire circle. To see one, we must look up toward the sun when we stand on the earth. Full circle rainbows. The brilliance of light and prisms complete in a circle.
Stress takes on many forms – physical, emotional, mental – strains on our body and psyche. We may break out in hives or small red itchy spots.
I remember when I was a high school freshman stressed about an exam. My hands broke out into tiny, itchy skin-colored bumps, from my finger tips all the way to my wrists completely covered. It was awful! My skin felt stretched and constantly itched with the slightest feel of dust in the air. I thought they would never return to normal, but following a week of itchy “torture” my hands returned to their normal size and texture. Since then I have learned to monitor my stress levels. Every few years, my body screams at me in obvious physical ways reminding me that life is not meant to be lived in stress. I try to listen, but most of all I try not to get to that point of stressed out.
So here are a few things I have learned in order to avoid deep stress:
(written June 18, 2025)
Community:
Two people or twenty
The number matters not
Souls connect
Dreams align
Words flow with understanding
Of goals, desires
Traversing the same direction
Freedom
Of thought and action
Eyes see
The same lines
Hearts trod
The same track
Lifting each the other
Up to loftier heights
When bumps crash hard
Support resounds
Shoulders to cry on
Backs to bear weights
Smiles bring softness
Into our spirits
Warmth, care, belonging
Community
(written on June 17, 2025)
I was in the throws of packing today, serious minded and trying to be focused on the multiple tasks at hand. My husband even commented that I looked angry. I guess I was taking the job too seriously. Something about being surrounded by cardboard boxes and the sound of tape constantly ripping just doesn’t soothe my soul. It also makes for quite the tedious day when my job is really just to make sure everything is getting packed.
My dulled mind was suddenly awakened when my young son yelled, “Deer!” My head whipped up to catch a glimpse of the beautiful forest creature in our backyard. We both exclaimed together, “And two baby deer!” The graceful doe gently led her two speckled fawns across our backyard, gingerly picking their way through the lush green, weedy lawn. We gleefully followed them around to the front of our house to watch them continue on down the bend behind a neighbor’s yard. Sigh. What a breath of fresh air. Yanked out of the packing doldrums to partake in the joy of nature, a mama doe and her little ones.
“Your are not a machine.
You’re a soul who needs music, connection, sunsets, laughter, and small pockets of joy.
Prioritize them, like your life depends on it,
because it does.”
~ thesmrevolution on Instagram
We all know you can make bread from bananas, and who doesn’t like a succulent pumpkin pie? But how many people know you can make cake with tomato sauce?!
When moving season comes, somehow I always end up with a lot of cans of tomato sauce (and diced tomatoes), pumpkin, and of course tons of frozen over-ripe bananas. I do believe this time of year is my children’s favorite because it means mom is going to back some yummy treats. Among their favorite are what you see featured here. Banana bread, pumpkin oatmeal bars, pumpkin pie, and tomato cake.
Tomato cake, friends… give it a try. I am a bit surprised, but my kids actually love it even without the icing. Throw some ultra-sweet cream cheese icing on the top and the cake almost tastes like a kind of salty carrot cake! Here is the recipe I used: https://www.stetted.com/tomato-cake/
Also not featured is easy tomato soup… just two cans of tomato sauce, one can of diced tomatoes, a little garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. I like to add 1/4 cup of half and half. And, voila! Better than Campbell’s tomato soup =)
Eating is an adventure when you move a lot! Perhaps it inspires someone else to enjoy some pumpkin, banana, and tomato!
Lasts… It is time for a major tack. Things are a bit topsy turvy, the waves feel large but the wind has lulled some. Momentum is difficult to find yet we must perform this tack. We know the steps. We call out the commands. Our crew is ready and available to help. We must move decisively. It’s best if we move slowly and smoothly. I’m nervous about stalling out. But there appear to be more ripples on the water on the other side of the no sail zone. Our boat may have more movement once we make it through the tack, and we can sail along to our destination.
So we will observe our lasts. Our last good-byes with friends. Our last pipe and drum practice. Our last swim. Our last sail. Our last dinner. Our last goodnights. Our last cleanings. Our last waking in a familiar direction. There have been many blessings and things to see and enjoy on this tack. A few interestingly difficult challenges as well.
Looking back I find myself looking forward. God taught lessons and grew us all. He has other plans for us now. We are going to embrace the new direction. We will make it through this tack, one way or another. The boat will continue moving and we will discover new adventures… together.
I have learned I need to be decisive but smooth. Watch for signs that indicate it’s time to prepare to center the tiller, like when the jib comes to center. “Break!” The jib action is a telltale sign when you’re in a bigger boat, like the Rainbow I sailed today with my husband and two of our kids. When I learned to sail a Topper, there was no jib. “Push the tiller toward the sail. The boom switches sides. Center the tiller. Move/jump to the other side.” These were the commands that I repeated over and over in my head as I learned how to tack.
The way we tack (switch sides of the wind direction) as we head toward our destination (or life goal) depends on what type of boat we sail. Are we a one-person boat, sailing solo going through life without a lot of extra responsibility? Are we two? What about when a baby comes along? Maybe a boat that fits five or more? How big our boat is (how large our ohana is) affects how we go about changing directions.
We always need to maintain speed through a tack or change in direction. We should move decisively and smoothly. However the size of the boat and the number of crew affect how the tack will be performed. Communication becomes critical, as does following the directions of the one in charge.
“Keep your speed up. Don’t stall. Push all the way through. Not too fast, not too slow. Mind the boom.”
In a boat, learning to tack well is crucial to sailing well. To tack is to make the boat turn from one side of the wind to the other.
(More to come tomorrow. Late nights here. Busy with life tacking).
Leader
Will you lead through the fire?
What when the fire dies?
Who are you leading and do you know your why?
Do you promote yourself above others?
Or do you look and see others, weaving talents together to yield a cloth of multiplied strength?
Deceptive is the idea that the best leader is one most skilled in his craft (be it flying a plane, designing technology, etc).
Perhaps leading others is a skill in itself.
Look just below the highest performing worker… for the one who watches, observes, encourages, challenges the team to grow.
Can an intrinsically skilled leader of people lead in multiple contexts, regardless of his/her specific job training?
Leader, lead people and know why you lead.
Life is Sailing 