Re: [Paddlewise] Sharing a thought

Ralph D wrote:


>I was reading the NY Times this morning and was taken by a phrase that
>appeared in an interview with the author of a new book, "In The Heart of
>The Sea."  The book is about the crew of the whaling ship Essex, which
>was sunk by a whale, and served as inspiration for Herman Melville's
>Moby Dick.
[snippage]

I'm reading this book now.  It's an excellent read.  Highly recommended.


>I know sometimes a little knowledge and mastery can lead to arrogance.
>I have seen this among some fledging paddlers who have learned bracing
>and a decent roll.  They take on the airs of masters of their
>environment the way an inline skater may feel he or she is in control on
>pathways and sidewalks.  They don't really understand what Mr. Philbrick
>is saying in paragraph two above.  Even those BCU coaches who come as
>close as one possibly can to being "masters" of the sea understand that
>the sea is really the master.


Nice thought.  I remember coming across an old Irish fisherman's saying --
it may have been in Chris Duff's book that I read it, or it may have been
that I read it while in Ireland, I can't remember.  The closest I can
remember it (as translated) is something like this:  "Those who do not fear
the sea are likely to drown.  But we do fear the sea, and we only drown
sometimes."  Same basic idea, I think.

The idea of mastering nature, it seems to me, emerged with the mercantile
and industrial revolutions and developed with them (ie, it's relatively
"new").  It strikes me as an archaic, 19th Century notion (resisted by many
even then), and one that has led to many bad things (including the near
destruction of much of the planet).  Certainly today it is a foolish notion,
and one that should die an undignified death as we (hopefully) evolve toward
a sense of existing within the natural environment, and being humbled by it
. . . and beholden to it. . . .

Mark

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