I was pondering this latest question from Danielle LaPorte’s series throughout the day today. This one made me dig deep. Deep into caverns within myself that I didn’t necessarily want to go into. But dig I did.
The boat she is talking about here is the boat that has carried you to a 
certain place in your life. Whether it be career, love, location, etc. My problem was that I have so many boats I could potentially burn I was danger of having the world’s biggest harbour bonfire. And what a show that would be!
Should I choose my career boat? I have changed career so many times I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that…
Should I choose my love boat? (hee, and I did watch that as a child…). No, I could write a whole book on that boat alone…
And then I knew. I knew what boat I needed to go up in flames, be laid to rest in the vast ocean that she had traveled. The boat that led me to me.
At one point in my past, right before I was about to make a decision that would lead me on a path away from myself and who I essentially was, a good friend of mine pulled some tarot cards. (She is very adept at it). Needless to say the cards laid it all out on the line and depicted the road that was about to cage me in. But what I remember even more distinctly is the last card that came out. This was describing the outcome, and there was a large Viking type boat, worthy of Odin himself.
A beautiful wooden masterpiece, sails at full mast, blowing in the wind. And it was sailing away. Sailing away from what I was about to choose, and taking me back to myself.
I walked, for a little bit, on that path that veered me away from my true self, my potential, and my soul. But I was not on it for long. I took a detour that lead me to this magnificent vessel that had been waiting patiently for me all that time.
Alone I learned to master the wheel, steer the course, read the stars, the sun and the wind, and journey to a new land, a new life and a new me. It was a long journey, with many storms, challenges and lessons. But the boat remained firm beneath me, a sturdy foundation in the chaos of change. A teacher constantly challenging me to take the wheel, become the master. I learned to let go, connect with flow and discovered the strength that existed within. Together we journeyed through the vast inner world within me.
My beloved boat lead me to a new land, but when I disembarked I was no longer the same woman who had walked up the plank so many ages before. I had a new perspective of the the world, and was full of new strength and confidence. It was time to build a new foundation, a stronger one. This time with my own hands, my own values and my own beliefs.
This new land is filled with tall, beautiful mountains, new paths and new adventures. But it is the call of the mountains that I hear the loudest. They quietly whisper to me of the great heights that await me. Narrow paths, deep caverns and lush plateaus will be the base of my next journey. But these are places I cannot take my beloved ship to.
So it is time to let her go, in blaze of glory and let her ashes spread across the vast and deep ocean that we traveled together. Her spirit will always be there though, and as I learn to shapeshift through and soar to the greatest heights of my potential, I will be able to look out over the sea and feel her solid presence, always reminding me that no matter where I go I am the captain and master of my destiny.
