Rudder: Guide the Motion
- Wind: Invisible, Available, and Powerful
- Sail: Harness the Power
- Rudder: Guide the Motion
- Revel: Celebrate the Victories
The wind can take you wherever you want to go. But can you steer the movement?
from rudder: “to change the vessel’s direction when in motion”
You have power, energy, motion. Awesome. You’re moving fast and strong. You’re unstoppable. But do you have direction? Control? Do you have a rudder?
noun
1. Nautical. a vertical blade at the stern of a vessel that can be turned horizontally to change the vessel’s direction when in motion.
2. Aeronautics. a movable control surface attached to a vertical stabilizer, located at the rear of an airplane and used, along with the ailerons, to turn the airplane.
3. any means of or device for governing, directing, or guiding a course, as a leader or principle:
His ideas provided a rudder for the new company.
dictionary.com
Going somewhere is usually better than going nowhere. Floating around in the harbor is peaceful but if you’re heading somewhere in, you know, your life, then getting out of the harbor at some point is going to make that a bit easier.
Let’s recap:
- Wind: your power source.
- Sail: how you capture the power (and turn it into motion).
- Rudder: how we’re going to guide that power, that movement, the motion.
As they pointed out at the International Conference on Not Really Sailors, I know next to nothing about actual sailing. But I’m pretty sure what a rudder does is:
- Prevent the sailboat from tipping over.
- Keep the boat going forward and not just getting pushed sideways by the wind.
What I find fascinating about sailboats is that, if you’re a good sailor, you can even use wind that’s going against you to your advantage and steer your boat into the wind. Remember, the wind is always there–even if slight at times.
Together with the sails that will push you in the direction of the wind and the rudder which is going to guide you in the direction you want to go, you’re moving.
Now it’s not just wind in the air. It’s not just the wind pushing your boat wherever it pleases. It’s the wind filling your sails and the rudder steering where you want to go.
Whew. So now what? Revel.
Rudder: Power without direction is lost.
