Giving permission to yourself to explore your passions o new activities to do, can take you to unexpected places. For me, Gardening and Sailing, now are my two big teachers.
This weekend I was sailing, one day it was windless and the other day it was too windy. On land, on Saturday the garden looked fantastic, with some rays of sun and unstable 6 knots. On the other hand, on Sunday, we had 17-23 knots, waves 1.5 meters, choppy water, northwesterly wind.
In my second year sailing, I am doing a Helming course in a Keelboat, Benetau J70, with another 4 crew, the experience was fantastic. I was nervous and excited and astonished of the boat-engeneering.
I was extremely grateful to have centuries of knowledge explained to me, grateful to have the opportunity to be there and have the experience of "driving" one of these boats. At the club, we don't use a motor, every time we leave and enter the marina, we do it fueled by the wind. No fossil fuels involved, wich turn it into a "green" and technical experience. Imagine we live in a world were Transport or hobbies, does not cost the planet explotation.
On Sunday, I could experience the force of the wind and take the boat at the maximum tilt. The wind and gusts were very strong and I had the best instructor, Mark, with 40 years of experience, he explained me what do calmly even when I said I was panicking. How incredible it is to have safe spaces to learn and teachers who challenge you because they see your potential.
Having a bit of sun, sailing up wind, feeling the 1.5 meter waves slipping over the deck, seeing all the white caps in the water, wittnessing the storm coming, It made me smile a thousand times, the adrenaline was there, I still think about that moment and start laughing laudly.
In the wind, I thought about the garden, how the garden was again exposed to this long 15 days of gusts. With this strong wind, severe rain came, and I wondered again, how the garden handles this weather. When I got home, everything seemed greener and more alive, with the water and the wind, and I thought, maybe the garden is laughing a thousand times, like I was this afternoon.
Because we are the elements of nature, it is in our DNA, in our evolution, in our nutrition, in our psycho-emotional development. We are salt water, and gusts of wind. I still feel the resistance of the rudder in my hand, going upwind, and the alert feeling when the boat tilt at the maximum, I still hear the strong sound of the rudder and the keel vibrating, producing a strong sound like an engine, just because of the speed. I still can taste the salt water hitting my face and the wind drying it, I can still feel my heart beating hard with the speed of the boat I was driving.
Sailing has been one of my greatest teachers, along with gardening.
I always write about gardening as a teacher, but this is my first post acknoledging saling as a Master. Both activities, give me connection with the elements of the Earth, they teach me about myself, about others, about nature, but above all, they teach me everything I don't know yet, and what I can discover.
The Garden Wisdom today is Life is now, take the opportunity to do what makes your heart beat strong, do what connects you with yourself, with others, with the force of nature, with the force of your nature.
Lots of love,
Ninna Mar
(Pictures are all from the weekend. I couldn't take pictures during the sailing session, my hands were busy in the main sail o at the tiler.
The last one I took it from binoculars from the members room in the club).
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