I just completed a six-unit online boating safety course and this weekend will take an in-person exam. Hmmm, I have to say, after reading the pages of information and long list of topics in the course curriculum about how to stay safe on the water - I am a tad rattled!
Boat fires ... crashes ... hypothermia ... person overboard ... capsizing ... fatalities ... getting struck by lightning ... collisions with other boats ... injuring someone with the propellor ... running over a skier ... drowning ... getting caught in a storm ... sinking ... running aground ... maiming manatees ... ruining underwater marine life ... effects of consuming alcohol ... mamma mia !!! Whose idea was it to start boating anyway??? (oh, uh, oops, mine) It is supposed to be fun!
And although the boat safety association's aim is to make boat operators aware, and to prepare and fortify us in the case of an emergency, I was not thinking about any of those scary parts before the course taught me the hazards and discussed them on videos and using graphics. I had been practicing driving boats on the water the last few weeks with experienced captains and it simply felt lively and exhilarating to be on the water in the Florida sunshine!
Now, after hearing about EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong, I feel afraid and anxious - and responsible going forward. I must regroup and stop focusing on the scary parts. I must envision feeling safe - and being safe - on the water as a boat operator, and think about the non-scary parts.
Lovely summer weather ... nice new boats to use through the boat club we joined ... learning my way around the waterways ... inviting friends to come along ... enjoying family time together ... relaxing on the water ... swimming ... floating ... sunbathing ... docking at area restaurants for lunch ... how much I enjoy boating - those kinds of fun and pleasant thoughts and activities.
Are we conditioned to focus on the scary parts of life? Is it habitual? Is it only human? We scare ourselves listening to the awful news stories, we utter aloud negative thoughts about what is sure to go wrong in a situation, we walk on eggshells "waiting for the other shoe to drop" ... dang, we hold onto so many fears!! Why?
[And let's not even get into the fears we have, and the scenarios we run through our minds, as parents & grandparents!]
It's not very fun or pleasant, is it?
It is a wonder we all do not lock ourselves in our homes and sit safely on the couch all day every day so nothing can happen to us "out there." Yet we don't, do we? We get out there, we are out there, we bebop along, we zip, we zoom, we drive, we hop on trains, we jump out of airplanes, we travel to other countries, we go-go-go, we cross the street, we swing around golf clubs, we light fireworks, we swim in the ocean, we look in the 3-way mirror in the store's fitting room. We do the things we do anyhow, in spite of "what could go wrong." We do them afraid or not.
It takes a mindful, conscious act of STOPPING ourselves from the scary thoughts and turning them around to think about more pleasant ones. Ahhh, that feels much better. We must regroup and stop focusing on the scariness. We must envision feeling safe - and being safe - during the myriad of activities we engage in and attempt.
I'll do it if you will! C'mon, snippeteers, let's cease alarming ourselves and feeling intimidated by what can hurt us in life. Let's condition ourselves otherwise to highlight the good parts. Aye, aye, Capitana Suzanna!
