"The sea is dangerous..."

I have always loved the sea!  Apparently there is a term for that (of course) - lovers of all things related to the sea are known as thalassophiles.  The word thalassophile comes from the Greek word thalassa, meaning sea, which in turn comes from the ancient Greek goddess Thalassa.  Legendary oceanographer and thalassophile Jacques Costeau once said, "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."  I've certainly found that to be true in my case.

The logical next question is why?  Why do so many people find the ocean so alluring.  I've posted (see "Back to Nature") in the past on a great book (Blue Mind) that addresses this exact question by the marine biologist and author Wallace J. Nichols, who unfortunately just passed away last month.  In that book, Nichols writes about the health and wellness benefits people derive from working and playing around water (rivers, lakes, and especially oceans).  I've also posted about Nichols' "Blue Marble Project" in the past as well, which is based upon the concept that our Earth is often referred to as a Blue Marble, particularly when viewed by astronauts in outer space.  The Apollo astronaut James Irwin said (when referring to Earth), "As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart."

Why is our planet so blue?  It's covered by water!  Traditionally, sailors who traveled around the world would say that they had sailed the "Seven Seas".  In reality, there are more than seven seas around the world, and this was just an expression.  In fact, the "Seven Seas" of antiquity referred to different bodies of water at different periods of time in history, which were often the main bodies of water traveled most frequently at a particular time.  For example, the ancient Greeks considered the "Seven Seas" to include the Aegean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Caspian Sea, and the Persian Gulf, while in more modern times the "Seven Seas" refer to Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.  Today, the oceans are divided geographically into the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern (previously known as the Antarctic) Oceans, which collectively cover roughly 71% of Earth's surface.  The water contained in these five oceans account for 97% of all of the water on our planet.  As the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said, "How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean."

We are drawn to water because the oceans are beautiful, alluring, and mysterious.  For as much of our planet is covered by water, we still know very little about the ocean.  Only 20% of the ocean has been mapped, explored, or touched by humans.  The oceanographer Paul Snelgrove has said, "We know more about the surface of the Moon and about Mars than we do about the deep sea floor, despite the fact that we have yet to extract a gram of food, a breath of oxygen or a drop of water from those bodies."  The ocean is our next frontier, and perhaps our final frontier.

But for as beautiful and mysterious at it is, the sea can be just as dangerous.  And that simple fact has led to a number of quotes that are in large measure a metaphor for life.

"The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore."     Ferdinand Magellan

"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."     Vincent Van Gogh

"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest.  We must learn to sail in high winds."     Aristotle Onassis

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than those you did.  So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."     Mark Twain

Even if our lives are never quite in immediate danger, we will undoubtedly encounter "high winds" and "rough seas" in our journey through life.  But as Magellan, Van Gogh, Onassis, and Twain attest, that is never reason to give up or quit.  "We must learn to sail in high winds."  And we will be better off for it.  As the historian Edward Gibbon said, "The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator."  Or as William Arthur Ward claimed, "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

So for me, the ocean is an apt metaphor for the work we do as leaders.  There is beauty.  There is mystery.  There is uncertainty.  When you encounter a storm, adjust your sails.