Lowering the centerboard.

There was plenty of wind, but we couldn’t get the boat to go forward. We adjusted both the main sail and jib, pulled them in and let them out, and still the boat refused to go forward. Then, we realized the centerboard was still lifted out of the water. With one simple push, the boat glided forward, making the most of the wind, as we headed across the bay.

It was a simple life experience, but as I approach the season of Lent I realize the important lesson it teaches. There is plenty of wind to guide me through each day, countless opportunities and sources of inspiration. I need to lift my sails and catch that wind (or spirit), but, like the day in the sailboat, I might only move sideways. There is a centerboard that needs to be lowered, a simple gesture that could give my boat direction.

This is the season of gestures, those taken and those not, all with the hopes of working with the wind and moving forward. Too often I focus on the wind, the opportunities and inspiration of life, and not on the other parts that help move the boat forward. It is not either or, for you need wind just as you need a centerboard, but we sometimes focus on one and forget the other. This is the season of adjustment, to trim sails and lower centerboards, to make sure we are making the most of all we've been given and heading in the right direction. It is a time to move forward, rather than floating aimlessly in the wind.

So this year I am going to focus not on one thing for Lent, but many. I am going to make 40 (46 if you count Sundays, which I do) small gestures. I am also going to not do 46 things in hopes that, together, those decisions will lower the centerboard of my life. Such gestures will not seem big at first, but, when done in conjunction with the others, I have no doubt my spiritual boat will move forward.