Improbe Neptunum accusat qui iterum naufragium facit.
(Publilius Syrus, Sententia 264)

The one who suffers a shipwreck for the second time improperly blames Neptune.

(Pron = ihm-PRO-bay nehp-TOO-noom ahk-KOO-sat kwee EE-the-room now-FRAH-ghee-oom
FAH-kit)

Comment: Shipwrecks happen. Sometimes it is because the sea was rough, the
waves deep, the wind blew hard and the rain came down in buckets. Sometimes it
is because sharp and huge rocks (or icebergs) laid hidden in the water.
Sometimes it is because the pilot of the ship did a poor job navigating. And
sometimes it is because the ship itself was not seaworthy. Shipwrecks happen,
and there are multiple reasons for them.

Must someone be blamed for them? The wind and the sea, even rocks were only
doing what they do. The energy called “Neptune” is what it is, and it remains
true to that even if true to that means being unpredictable. The only question
then remains: who ventured out into the unpredictable waters that were the scene
of the wreck before? Well, there’s one more question, or two: when someone
ventured into the unpredictable waters that so predictably cause shipwrecks,
was the ship seaworthy? Was the pilot prepared? Was the pilot minding his
duty when the wreck happened?

When shipwrecks happen Neptune is unjustly blamed. The sea was being and doing
what it does. That leaves to wonder: how have I respected this sea? How have
I honored what the sea is? How have I handled the energy that I am as a human
being faced with an interaction with this sea? And finally, if there has been a
second shipwreck, and I am still alive, what now, finally, might I learn from it
all?


Bob Patrick
(Used with permission)
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