johnmdemarco posted on December 07, 2011 03:35
I was riding with a bunch of colleagues last night when the subject turned to old TV shows—specifically, The Love Boat and its memorable cast of characters. Doc. Isaac. Julie. Gopher.
Oh, the cheese and the whine that flowed. This motley crew and their intriguing passengers would get into one (usually romantic) jam after another, rife with miscommunication and misunderstanding. Somehow, by the time the boat docked at its shore of destination, issues were neatly resolved and viewers temporarily tuned out—with the comfort that the boat “soon would be making another run.”
Ah, how I wish life could be like that.
Imagine hopping onto a large ocean liner with the most important people in your life; both the functional and the dysfunctional. As the seas roll, everyone hashes things out. There are tears and laughter, revenge and resolution. And then the boat docks, and all is well.
And only sixty minutes have passed, including commercials!
In reality, Captain Stubing isn’t around. Each of us is the captain of our ship, and we navigate both treacherous and placid waters on a day-to-day basis. The vessel never fully reaches the shore, and things are temporarily resolved for an undetermined period of time rather folded into a programmatic denouement. Everything remains in motion, and we are unfinished works of art.
First question: How are you steering the ship? Do you steer with self-awareness, compassion and vision? Are you caught up in past voyages, or are you focused on the depths at hand and leveraging your strengths to get through them?
Another question: Who is on board? Are they mates who build you up, stretch your thinking, challenge you with respect but intention? Is there anyone who needs to get into the little life boat—with a life preserver, of course—and no longer be a part of your crew?
By the way, my peers and I definitely had things to say about the Love Boat characters’ wardrobes. Good times.