A lesson in trust

In that moment I tapped in to the lesson that presented itself: the universe will catch you if you trust enough to let go.

It was a beautiful and blustery day. You’d never have known from the dock, but passing another boat with a broken mast being towed back to land on our way out was the first indication 😶

Once we hit open water and the motor shut off, we were at the mercy of the wind. There were times where the boat keeled over so far the deck was practically taking on water. 

No matter how many times I go out in similar conditions that feeling has yet to get any more comfortable. 

The logic doesn’t compute as to how we haven’t all ended up in the freezing lake. 

It’s both exhilarating and terrifying. Squeals of disbelief and delight escaped my usually-stoic-in-times-of-stress throat. 

Each time we tacked or came about there’d be a brief moment of reprieve as the boat levelled, and then just as quickly the wind would catch the head sail again and lurch with surprising grace to the other side, to what felt like 45 degrees. The water so close my toes could dip in without swinging my legs over the side. 

I was faced with a choice: resist or lean in. Control or let go. Don’t trust or trust. 

Eventually my white knuckled grip on the stays loosened enough to receive blood flow again and I gradually released my resistance to the physics I couldn’t comprehend. 

Life’s greatest lessons aren’t usually obvious, and more often than not they’re recognized in hindsight. But in that moment I tapped in to the lesson that presented itself: let go and the universe will catch you. 

Sometimes the universe shows up in the form of a guide. In this case, our captain (my Dad) who’s had my back from Day 1 - even when I didn’t always see it. He wasn’t going to do anything that would intentionally harm his most favourite people. I leaned in to that. I leaned in to trust in him.

I leaned in to the tilt, enthralled by our speed of sail, the competence of my Dad and the rush that ensued. I trusted I would be okay. 

Often, when we don’t understand, or don’t feel comfortable, we close up. We resist. We create impenetrable armour under the guise of keeping ourselves safe. We set our sights on wading up stream, instead of letting the stream carry us with ease.

When we release the fear of what we don’t know and trust in the support we’ve cultivated - in ourselves and in others - we open ourselves to flow. We experience a new level of freedom. 

Freedom to experience the gifts of this world on a more intimate level. 

Freedom to witness how other people shine. 

Freedom to learn in the moment from the lessons that present themselves. 

Freedom to choose our next step with intention.

Freedom from what limits us from rising above what keeps us down.

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