The Guardian

The other evening I was watching ‘The Guardian’ – the new Kevin Kostner and Ashton Kutcher movie. I was reminded that to be plunged into an angry sea is to be immersed in life beyond my control – to be treading water in a world that doesn’t think a moment on my comfort or safety. To be effective in such a place is about self-care & preparation – a learning that leverages presence and possibility out of otherwise annihilating conditions. There is an intuition at work here, a determined purpose of fixed focus & particular choices. There will always be the other others but out here I attend to those in close proximity. Always my own safety is paramount – my health and effectiveness depend upon it.
 
An angry sea is a reminder of the fragility of life, of my nakedness – my exposure in the world. There is a destructive randomness & violence about this planet – a tremendous power that puts men in their place. For those who dare to dwell here - legends attach themselves like molluscs – accretions of men being more – intensifying their presence.
 
The world of technology, of structure on the edge of chaos allows men to get unnaturally close to raw nature. Yet to enter the angry sea, the fisher of men takes an old fashioned jump – a leap of faith beyond comfort & safety – the possibility of death increasing exponentially – extinction – irrelevance – a step beyond rationality, a dunking in the death zone.
 
Ours is a fragmented humanity, broken by circumstance, traumatised by incident, marked by particular choices. The chance of redemption is life for those past the point of no return. To save the ones you can and to let the others go is the choice of one who would be a Guardian.