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Blinks and Sunglasses

It was a stunning day. 27 degrees, warm water and a gentle breeze flowing from the shore out to the deep blue Pacific Ocean. The location is Sonaisali Island Resort just 500m off the Fiji mainland.

Sitting on the shoreline the Hobbie Cat was geared up and in the offering. How could I resist? I donned the obligatory life jacket and haul the boat into the gentle swell.

In an instant, a blink if you will, I made the decision to wear my expensive prescription sunglasses on the boat. I mean the wind and sea state was such that there was simply no way I could capsize the boat.

So I push off, sheet in the Main and sail at a lazy almost meaningless pace off down past the resort. It is after all a holiday and even the wind seems to work on Fiji time.

Sometime and distance later round the boat downwind and prepare to jibe. It is at this point that I notice for the first time that the tiller extension has undergone some Fijian style refurbishment that has left it practically impossible to cross the boat with the extension in my grip. I grab the tiller bar and complete the job, the sheet in for a long slow broad reach.

I then lean out of the back of the boat to recover the tiller extension when Slip … Slop … Splash … my glasses fall into the now very murky water. I lurch out to grab them, then make a decision to fully commit to their recovery.

Moments later after diving into the water and trying to swim to the bottom with a lifejacket on. Yip. I quickly become aware that the glasses are lost at sea. I stand up and find the water is chest deep then turn to see the boat is slowly making its way seaward without me. Oh yeah, one of the first things I was taught about sailing. ALWAYS stay with the boat unless it sinks.

Now had the wind been any stronger the sail would have circum and flapped in the breeze. Not today. Just enough wind so I couldn’t dog paddle after it. Just enough wind so I couldn’t swim then stop for a break. I tried both and each time the boat sailed off.

I had to put in some serious swimming to finally catch the boat, round it into wind and pull my water logged body back on board. Heavier and darker!

Thus ended the first morning of my holiday and now here is the strange implication:

Sometimes we make blink decisions (deciding to wear my glasses); that lead to bigger decisions and commitments (going in after my glasses); that lead to a whole heap of extra work (swimming after the boat).

Sometimes our blinks are wrong!   

Book Review: Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels

I actually downloaded this book from audible.com and listened to it on the plane to Melbourne. I then brought the book and listened to it again.

Bill basically asks, what is it that you can’t stand? What is it that you are passionate about? What keeps you awake at night? He challenges you to seek out this ‘Holy discontent’ and pursue it with everything you have.

One of the examples he uses is a lady named Jude Goatley from NZ who now works in Africa with Brighthope. Jude and Karina have known each other for years. It was kind of strange to be listening to a book from US then hearing about a person you know and their Holy Discontent.

Anyway here is an unrelated excerpt:

Friends, when a leaders shoulders sag, everyone else's shoulders begin to sag too. If your shoulders are drooping, it won’t be long before you find everyone around you hunched over and beaten down. You hold tremendous responsibility in this regard, because when hope dies in a leader, the game ends and the cause is defeated. Please don’t let this happen to you!

This area of self leadership – the issue of keeping you energy high – is absolutely critical because everyone you lead, whether a friend, a child, an employee, takes their cue from you.

The good news is this: When you charge toward your holy discontent with boundless passion, optimism and energy, you become the very best kind of contagious! It’s positive magnetic living in its purest form.

Lesson: I think it is apathy. By that I mean I think my discontent is linked to it in some way. Maybe it is indifference. Watch and see, I am working on it.

Holy Discontent
Bill Hybels
Genres	Leadership, Spirituality, Personal Vision
Pages	149
Readability	2	(1 = Easy, 5 = Hard)
Enjoyment	4	(1 = Never Read, 5 = Remarkable)