Monday, October 24, 2005

Zen Sailing with the Details of my Dreams



I’m going sailing tonight. I do every week no matter the weather. Well, except for those weeks when I don’t really want to. Those weeks I go sailing twice.

Most people, especially my friend Meryl, don’t know this about me. They think I’m not the sailing type. They think that I wouldn’t be out on the water again, not after the boom hit me in the head. They assume I had my fill at a 45 degree angle when the captain buried the rail and I declared that people weren’t meant to sit and stand at the same time.

I didn’t like being face to face with the ocean floor.

People think that such events preclude me from being the sailing type. They’ve decided that I have an aversion to that nature stuff. That could be because there’s hardly an hour when you can’t find me on my computer. Still I’d think that my friends would know I’d find a way around these minor details. Who doesn’t know of my love for the sky and open spaces? Who’d expect me to be conventional in my approach?

I don’t own a sailboat. I don’t talk about sailing. I only go sailing at night. Alone. Here in my living room. My friend Duncan calls it Zen sailing.

The Little River Band is playing “Cool Change” and I’m under a soft full moon rocking with the waves to the music. I see the Chicago skyline. I see some lovely additions. Navy Pier has the dark, blue lights of the Plaza Uníta in Trieste and near the Hancock is the building that looks like the Borg that I saw on Hong Kong Island. Along the shore line is the blue-green phosphorous effervescence they call the ghostly glow.

That’s the advantage of Zen sailing, I get to add details.

I turn the music low, lie back, and look to the moon for inspiration. The strings and waves take away the world but bring the people I care about close to me. Now I have time for them. Now I have time for everything. My soul expands to fill the space. It’s space. It’s the freedom of childhood in summer. It’s the luxury of time. It’s the prosperity of space. It’s the richness of living.

I wonder at the moon, thinking on my father. The moon softly smiles on me, a strong and gentle light. I think of nothing sitting comfortably in my skin under the starry, starry sky. Whatever I was fretting floats off like so much smoke. It’s gone, not meant to be. I start to remember things I used to know and things I knew before I was born. I know where I fit in the universe. I can touch the sky.
And in the distance is an island I can go reach should I ever need one.

I will sleep well tonight. I’ve been sailing peacefully with the details of my dreams.
—me strauss Letting me be

28 comments:

Trée said...

Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, mesmerizing, seductive, and abso-f***ing-lutely brilliant Liz.

Can you tell I liked Zen Sailing? You need to stop giving me reasons to keep coming back to your blog. I do need my sleep too you know. :-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Well, now Tree, you can Zen sleep with the details of my dreams. :)

Thank you so much for your encouragement.

smiles,
Liz

Trée said...

*Smiling from ear to ear.*

I think I will Liz. My arms are full of the gifts you've sent my way today. I feel guilty with taking so much. But it's a good guilt, non? :-)

Anonymous said...

Zen sailing...i love it. I was almost on the boat with you. I do something very similar when I want to go to the beach and it is winter. I have a cd of ocean waves. I put it on at night, close my eyes and suddenly it is a summer day, the air full of salt and sea spray. I can even feels waves lapping at my legs. I am glad to know that there are other activies I can "zen" other than going to the beach.. I will soon be extending my zenning!

Anonymous said...

Sadly, I've never been sailing. I guess that's another pursuit I need to add to my list of things to do before I die.

Like kayaking.

Anonymous said...

Zen sailing/floating/flying.

It is beautiful.

Magnificent that you would tag something that was unamed. Now it has a name. A title. And it is happy.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Zen sailing sounds about right for me. As you may have noticed I love the ocean, always wanted to sail, studied up on celestial navigation and riggings and never left the shore. It was a trip in my mind but speaking of trips, my balance being somewhat compromised I fear my sea legs being less than adequate. Zen sailing - does the trick.

Anonymous said...

Oh I like that concept. Maybe I can do it with flying? :)

I'm not a huge fan of flying but I love the view from up above. It puts a totally different persective on life!

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Tree,
Thank you for thinking of what I put out here as gifts. There is no gift that does not go both ways.

smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hodgepodger!
Welcome. Thank you for coming. It's great to have you here.
Glad to be able to extend your Zen vacation possiblities. Have you tried Zen jogging? It's a great way to see the city.
smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Mojo,
You are still young. You have time todo many things. Of course, at the rate I see your list growing, I think perhaps you should get a calendar soon and start scheduling. :)

smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hello again Taoist,
If I name something I make it more real for me.
Thank you for your encouragment. I'm delighted that you should be happy from something I have put into words. I makes my life have a higher purpose I think.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Wonderful and good for you that you do this. I do it too, except I call mine "mind escaping to another world". I think it's the same thing. Sometimes I do it when I'm on the bus on the way to work, just close my eyes and imagine. I go to a fantasy land influenced by SFF novels that I've read and roleplaying games that I used to play. It helps to calm me down when I'm stressed.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Ned,
Studied navigation? How cool do you get? That is amazing.
I'm pleased to be able to offer you a way to use your navigation skills. Just don't let the boom smack you in the head. No, I don't suppose you would. That's a Liz kind of thing, not a Ned kind of thing. :)

smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Jennifer,
I have a feeling that you could catch on to the concept of Zen flying in no time at all. Too bad you don't know the lady who had the Tater and Crayon over. 65 could have taught you the finer points of self-levitation.
smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hello Liz,
Yes, I would say that's the same thing. Sometimes I go on vacation to other places. I have a way of jogging in my head that I used in a novel I'm writing. A friend reading behind me called it Zen jogging. I liked that. He does Zen weight lifting. :)
smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Here you are, once again at your best. Beautiful, Liz, just like you.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Zilla,
Thank you. It surprises me that people find such goodness in these pieces. I always think they will find them too self-serving. I write them when I need to visit that space in my head. I always feel more confident about the entertaining pieces.

smiles,
liz

Anonymous said...

There is something to be said for a writer's ability to evoke a time & place, a space where we'd all like to be. Nice, when serving self serves others as well. :-)z

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Zilla,
thank you for explaining that to me. It should have known that others might want to be where I wanted to be.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Sailing is like flying, only with more water.

heh..

But sailing really is a sort of flying isn't it? It's silent, you're surrounded only by the sound of the waves lapping against your boat, and the ripple of the canvas in the wind, and the occasional "holy f*&!k" from the guy who just got whacked in the back of the head by the mast during the tack.

It's awesome.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

You got it, Toadmaster. We make the weather. We make it change.

Thank you for hearing what I was saying and taking the ride with me. It's fun to get that kind of space in my mind.
smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

No, a boom to the head isn't a Ned thing. A Ned thing would be getting my feet caught on some rope, or slipping on some wet deck or really just forgetting to lift my left foot and go tumbling over the side.

Which... is why I think the zen sailing is probably my safest route.

Anonymous said...

So peaceful, I need peaceful. Thank you for this. I will try Zen sailing tonight.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Ah, Ned,
So while I'm taking the boom to the head, you're falling over the side. You're welcome to come Zen sailing with me anytime that you please. :)

smiles,
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Oh Easy,
You must try Zen sailing. It's very relazing and not at all expensive. Once you get the hang of it, I'd bet you could even do it at work.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Buoyant words and rhythms. One of your most poetic posts, you tall, blond, beautiful sailor, you.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

What a lovely response and so appropriate for Zen sailing. I think I'm going to have to make you a member of my crew.

smiles,
Liz