"Dangerous Journey"

"The fisherman knows the seas are dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these reasons sufficient for staying ashore. " -Vincent Van Gogh.

Another very similar quote is
"Ships are safe in Port but that is not what ships are made for"

As a young officer in the United States Navy during the early to mid eighties, we had a cruise to the North Atlantic and through the North Sea We encountered seas during that cruise that boggled my brain. The time frame for this cruise was in the dead of winter so we not only had the high seas to contend with but also bitter temperatures. Yes our ship would have been much safer had it not left it's safe berth at Norfolk Naval Base and ventured this far north, but the overall reward to me far surpassed the discomfort of the raging storm. During this cruise we made our way to Denmark to work with the Danish Military and then further up to Tromso Norway. While traveling to Tromso we worked our way up the coast f Norway doing exercises along the coast, and I got to see some of the most amazing scenery in the fjords along the coast, and then spend some time in a culture that makes its daily life north of the Arctic Circle. On this cruise we also made port in Wilhelmshaven Germany. Therefore in my personal opinion the discomfort of the storm was far outweighed by the experiences I was able to have which I would never have been able to take part in.

Not only at sea is this quote applicable in our lives. We must go out on a limb at times in our lives, take risks, and put our necks out on the line in order to experience some of the most fantastic experiences that life has to offer. The person who is to afraid to climb the scary mountain misses out on the chance to see the spectacular views from the top. The person who is afraid to enter the dark dank woods, misses the chance to see the wonderful mossy glade with the sunlight filtering down through the trees.

Man is designed to face the dangers and to thrive on the exhilaration that ensues. For it is through these dangers that we succeed and move on to new levels in our lives. I have a confession to make in my early life I was one of those who took the risks and went t see what the world had to offer. When I graduated from high school I could have stayed near home and worked for my dad and maybe someday taken over the business from him, but I elected to move away from home and be the first in the family to go to college. Then I joined the Navy and traveled a good portion of the world. It was after I came home and got married that I started playing it safe. I took a company job and worked for someone else all my married life so far, even though a little voice inside me told me something else was waiting for me outside the norm, but the desire to make sure my family was provided for and taken care of far outweighed the risks that would be involved and even today I look at my life and say that the risks are far to high to venture out of the envelope, ideas I have but the warm and secure seem to hold me back. I am not saying life has been easy, and I find myself starting over from the start more often than not, thus telling me the secure is not even that secure anymore. The days of taking a job out of schol and retiring from that job in your 60's is long gone.
So here is hoping I can break out of that "secure safe lifestyle" and take some risks and continue on my amazing journey.