We are motorboat people in a motorboat world. The wind doesn’t matter. Motorboat people don’t discern. We decide. […]
By contrast, sailing is a conversation. The wind makes an assertion, and the sails take in what the wind has spoken; the boat tilts, as if cocking an ear in response. The helmsman listens, and seeks to connect the wind’s assertion and the boat’s response to the course this conversation is on, contextualizing the exchange, making meaning. The helmsman may affirm what the wind has said or remain silent. Or he may introduce a new idea entirely, bringing the boat through the eye of the wind, continuing the conversation now from a fresh angle. The wind, the boat, and the sailor listen to one another and respond.
This conversation is not small talk; these are not idle words.