sailing into the school year.

Life is like a sailboat. It is a continuous journey that takes you far and wide. A journey that stretches over time and through all cycles of life. A journey that offers a glimpse into an unfolding world. A world that slowly unravels before your eyes, like a setting sun cast out over an open ocean. Your boat becomes your body, the tool for which you care. The wooden deck is washed down with detail; the sails are carefully managed and supported by the mast. As with any body, the lack of self-care and motivation will inevitably equal deterioration. A beautiful gift will disintegrate over time, turn to ash, become lost forever.

I will not let my boat turn to ash. I will not become lost at sea.

Everyday we tread in open waters, left to observe the world around us, critique it, absorb it and become influenced by it. We are thrown into a sea of unknowns and expected to swim, stay afloat and eventually find our way to shore. Find our way home where all the answers are safely tucked away.

If only life really worked this way.

Often times we find ourselves struggling, splashing and bobbing, to stay above the chilly waters. We find ourselves faced with various challenges that constantly change the elements around us. A dark storm rolling in over the skies, raging waves tossing us about or a curtain of mist that blinds our sight. You experience the hardships that accompany sailing; the bumps in the road that tend to hold us back or bring us down. A tear in the sail is a setback in parenting, a flooded deck a lost job. These trials and challenges are forever spinning in circles above our heads.

The question is, what do we do? How do we set our course and when do we begin sailing?

There are no secret answers tucked safely away in our homes. The answers lie in the heart of us, the heart of our sailboat, in the sails, in the mast and in the wooden deck.

This past week we have been surrounded by boats, both metaphorically and literally. With the start of a new school year we will be setting sail in a different direction, right around the corner is change. I don’t know that I am ready for this change, and I am certainly not ready for the school year, but I know that boat is leaving with or without me. I also know that I don’t want to be left standing on the dock when everyone else is on board.

So here’s to change and sailing into a new season!
I hope it’s a smooth ride drenched in open skies and sparkling waters.


*last photo taken with my iPhone
*Jess' lovely swimsuit is c/o Bella Bare Wear