Tossed at Sea

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale

a tale of a fateful trip,

that started from this tropic port,

aboard this tiny ship.

We planned to have a certain kind of life.  We couldn’t see into the detail, but we could make out the shape.  Paradise was our destination. 

We boarded the charter feeling confident that the vessel underneath us could take us to the port of Bliss. The forecast was for calm, so we saw no need for concern. We felt prepared for the trip. We packed the necessities and sat back for the journey ahead.  We took in a drink, as the times called for one.

We cruised through the open waters early on with only an occasional chop.  Most waves we could see coming, while others caught us by surprise, causing our spirits to spill. 

Though messy, we wrote off the uncomfortable as part of the overall experience. 

The weather started getting rough,

the tiny ship was tossed

If not for the courage of the fearless crew

the Minnow would be lost.

Somewhere along the course, things got sloppy as the waters turned choppy.  With motion as a constant, we moved off balance.  We began taking on water, though miraculously, we kept a glass in our hand. 

Then, our little boat capsized out of nowhere, and we found ourselves stretched for a lifeline. We were flailing, capturing only glimpses of certain death. Maintaining the waterline with one hand as the other refused to let go of the bottle, we were pushed and pulled by a current of consequences, and we ended up flat out on a beachhead, nowhere near our planned destination.

The ship aground on the shore

of this uncharted desert isle

We awoke battered, beaten, and bloodied.  What was important to us was that we were lost at sea.  The island that we now occupied was foreign yet unexplainably welcoming.  It felt good to be alive and on solid ground.  Habit told us we should seek the drink, but the inhibitors of this Ilse-of-Peace showed us an alternative called serenity found through spirituality.  We didn’t know how to survive in this setting, but with the guidance of survivors, we learned the ways. 

So this is the tale of our castaways,

They're here for a long, long time.

They'll have to make the best of things,

it's an uphill climb.

We learned so much in this place. We studied steps and took a fresh look at spirituality. We followed suggestions and began to reshape our dreams and desired destinations. In this place, we learned to crawl carefully, walk intentionally, and run with purpose. In fact, we learned to fly. We took our lives to new heights. We found fulfillment in exploration—of ourselves and of all that surrounded us.

Once stable,  we began to partake in rescue missions.  Going out and into the dangerous waters to be that lifeline to the next who had been left lifeless through a lifetime of liquor.

It turns out that, though not by design, we ended up right where we were supposed to be.

We had landed at our destination. We are home. We have found a certain kind of life; we now see the detail that matters. Paradise embraces us, and we hold and protect this blissful life as our pre-determined place of residency.

So join us here each week my friends,

you're sure to get a smile,

from seven stranded castaways

here on Gilligan's Isle!

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Thoughts and ideas for this blog post were taken and built upon from sober.coffee bonus podcast titled “Bonus Drop:  Jewels - A Story of Trauma to Alcoholism to Sobriety to HOPE !!  And… A Whole Lot More… “ … The session dropped on 3/13/2022.    Click here to hear the podcast. 

 Photo by Pedro Kümmel on Unsplash   

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