Today was a toughie. Grey sea, grey skies, a chill wind and waves coming at me from an awkward angle. Conditions on deck were wet and cold, and the rowing was a hard slog for not much reward.
It’s on days like this that I have to remind myself of the reason why I’d rather be rowing across oceans than working in an office, as I did for 11 years (although today it was a close call.).
So what is that reason?
I guess that in the office days I just didn’t feel that I was making a contribution. I was mostly redesigning computer systems and streamlining headcounts for big financial companies – which is a contribution of sorts, but not the kind that I wanted to make. I needed to find a role in life that better reflected my personal values.
I wanted to connect with people and touch lives, and to feel there was some POINT to what I did every day. I wanted to be able to look back over my life and feel like I’d left some kind of legacy.
I hope that doesn’t sound like ego talking. I try to keep my ego in check, as it’s almost invariably a bad guide to living a good life. By legacy, I simply mean that when it’s all over and I’m on my deathbed, and I evaluate whether I did good, did bad, or did nothing – I hope I will honestly be able to say that, on balance, I did good.
Position (as at 0210, 8th July UTC): c.
Other stuff:
Hey Jack- hello!!! How lovely to hear from you! Please give my best wishes to John and Claire, and the other doormen at 1088 Park Ave, and I can’t wait to see you all again – hopefully in the fall.
Thanks for all the other kind messages that have come in – especially to Kirk for cheering up an otherwise gloomy day with his kind words.
BLUE PLEDGES
Just one week to go before the deadline on July 14th. Simply go to www.theblueproject.org and click on the Make a BLUE Pledge button. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart – or should that be from the bottom of the ocean.?!
BE COOL, BE BLUE!
Click here to see Day 44 of the Atlantic Crossing 13 January 2006.