Dictated by Roz at 21.36 and transcribed by her mother Rita Savage
Position: -08.10850S, 152.09482E
My blog to you tonight is a little parcel of peace. But before you open it, find somewhere quiet. It doesn’t have to be quiet around you as long as it is quiet within you. Peace is very fragile, and you don’t want non-peace to get into the box. So no matter what you are doing, put your work aside for now and take three deep, calming breaths. OK now you are ready.
It’s a small box about three inches in each direction. It is a sky blue box with a deep blue ribbon. Go ahead and open it.
Inside you will find a little silver ribbon on a moonlit ocean. The boat is rocking gently, on water barely ruffled by the breeze, and it is pleasantly cool after the heat of the day. There is no sound apart from the slight gurgle of water and the flap of a bird’s wings as it makes its way across the quiet ocean. A few fluffy clouds are glowing like ghosts in the light of the half moon. You feel the sense of accomplishment in a kind of satisfying way; with skin glowing slightly as though from sitting in a chair in the sunshine. (words not at all clear at this point – difficult to transcribe) It is a scene of pure peaceful serenity, soothing and refreshing.
Keep it safe, close the box and retie the ribbon. Put it away and put it in a place where you can find it again any time that you need it, then you can take it out and relax in a moment of calm in this crazy world. This parcel of peace is my gift to you.
Other Stuff: I am thinking of getting a little model of Brocade made to use when I give talks so that I can show what she looks like. A wooden model, a simplified version of the real thing, with no sticky-out bits to get broken, about twelve inches long. Does anyone know anybody who does this kind of thing ?
Another day of good progress today as you may gather from my general air of serenity. Hot, hard, sweaty work and not as calm a sea as yesterday but as my tiredness increases, I just cut the work into shorter shifts so that I manage to keep it going. There is a light wind from the north but it shouldn’t impact me too badly now that I am in a generally northwesterly current. I am about fifty miles from the nearest land, so that is a reasonable margin of safety.
As of tonight, 414 nautical miles to go.
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I think carbon fibre would be a better material than wood to make a Brocade model out of. It would be more durable, lighter, closer to the real thing, and could be made with more detail.
I’ve stored my box of Nighttime Ocean Serenity in a part of my head that I save things I don’t want to lose. Nobody can take those things from me. I’m sure it will come in handy. Thank you very much.
Hi Roz,
Thanks!
Cheers,
-Eric
Lovely post Roz, really fantastic. We’re keenly following your progress from the Escape the City HQ in London. All the best for the next 414 miles.
Dom
Dear Roz;
Thank you.
John
Thank you Roz! I do have a friend who can carve scenes on antlers he found in pastures, hunting scenes with multiple images on a tiny deer antler! He has awesome wood carvings too. If you would like, I will ask him if he is interested. Perhaps I should send pictures of his work, which is just a hobby/serenity box. He actually is a working farmer who is a published author as well!
Thank you for the lovely gift Roz. You really are a hero in my eyes, and the eyes of many others. Keep up the good work, and be careful on your way to Mandang.
Thank you for the gift, Roz. Your words make it so real that I can feel it.
Thank you, Roz. You took me to a nice place.
Spawned from your image, five haiku for you:
a silver ribbon
thin on a moonlit ocean
boat rocking gently
pleasantly cool
after the heat of the day
flap of a bird’s wings
gurgle of water
barely ruffled by the breeze
clouds glowing like ghosts
still quiet ocean
a sense of accomplishment
satisfying calm
soothing, refreshing
deep peaceful serenity
feeling, skin glowing
Happy glowing, Roz!
Roz, thanks for the gift, I’ll keep it safe and treasure it’s contents. Best wishes, Steve
Hey Roz, keep up the great work!!! John Zeigler makes really nice ocean rowing boat models out of wood. If you’re interested, I’ll send you his contact info.
Roz, Rita,
My friend says he will do the carving, but this Fall season is his earliest window. So, it probably looks like you will need it before then. Guess we’ll have to find something quicker!?? Roger