discovery

In a season of exploration and discovery,

you may feel lost at times.

You may become frightened,

imagining worst case scenarios,

picturing what it will be like if you never reach shore.

As you sail your boat of courage, wonder, and questions

towards the horizon,

not knowing to where

you are sailing

or what you might find:

keep the hope bolstered and shining within your heart.

Don’t forget to stoke the flame

of your own belief in possibility.

Without hope,

what do we have?

When you can successfully continue to

ward off despair

and hold onto the magic and chances all around you

(the choices you can make,

the small, brave deed you can do,

the beauty that is you),

the world will open to you,

and there’s no telling where you can go.

So as you sail —

hoping, wondering, waiting to find land —

remember:

"One does not discover new lands

without consenting to lose sight of the shore

for a very long time."

-Andre Gide

You are remarkable, true, and bold.

You have imagined a better future.

You are sailing towards it.

Even in the moments you aren’t sure which way to turn,

even when the waves and wind are tossing you about,

even when it seems you have every reasonable excuse and obstacle to keep you from your discovery…

Keep exploring.

Sail on.

It’s waiting just beyond your line of vision,

if you can only keep it in your minds eye and keep going.

Why did you embark in the first place?

Don’t forget.

When you land —

just imagine! —

the relief, exhilaration, and reward will wash over you:

oh, so this is what it was all about!

This is what we have waited and worked for.

This is the better future we imagined and dared to create.

I just knew there was something.

Here it is.

Here it is.

What do you wonder?

What can you be curious about?

Are you exploring with all your heart, with all your tools, with all your belief in possibility?

What will you discover next?

P.S. This began as an encouraging idea in my head: that the Western World would not have been found by the Eastern World at large, had Leif Erikson, Christopher Columbus, or other explorers been unwilling to follow their audacious hunches and see them through to the end, against all odds, challenges, uncertainties, and grueling stretches of unknown time. Thus: have patience. Keep the audacious belief alive. Onward.