Dùthchas: Watching the horizon

 

🌊 Have you ever heard someone say, "they've got their sea legs"? You're on a boat at sea and it seems that some people don't feel the waves and swells as much as others. I was on the Isle of Lewis this morning in the November winds, and some were laying down ill from the quakes of the vessel, no queue for the canteen.🤢

 Others were reading, having a bacon roll or on their phones.

Years ago, a captain going to St. Kilda shared this secret with me: he never watched the sea - he kept his eyes on the horizon.

It's not that he didn't get queasy or feel sick at times, he wasn't 'born' with sea legs; he just kept his eyes on something still. Watching the waves and swells and tumultuous waters, like many visitors do, will make you sick. Your body, your mind needs to rest on something stable, even if it is in the distance.

The horizon on the sea is like hope during troubles. You know you are not there yet, but you can see that over all of this chaos, there will be a steady line, solid ground on the other side. 🍃