One of my favorite pastimes is being with my husband in our anchored boat in Georgiana Slough ~ It is an incredibly quiet, beautiful, and nature-rich finger of the Sacramento River Delta.   It is a mini-vacation par excellence because it allows us to be alone and free of the phones, faxes and myriad of stressful rituals of our life.

We recently were motoring down the slough in search of the perfect spot for our weekend hideaway.  We found a marvelous site tucked away from the main flow of the river, but a small sailboat had already dropped its anchor there.  As is a custom of all boaters, we gave a friendly wave and admired their handsome boat.  But wait a minute ... they're anchored backwards!  Don't they realize that the front of the boat, the bow, is supposed to point upriver?  Dennis and I discussed their unique anchoring style and smugly decided that they were just young, inexperienced boaters who didn't know as much as we do about anchoring.

Our next opportunity for a mini-vacation found us once again heading down Georgiana Slough.  We remembered that prime area where the sailboat was before, so we hit the river early in order to claim the site before anyone else.  Our efforts paid off; the spot was open and waiting!  We wasted no time in dropping our anchor with all of our self-proclaimed skill and yachting knowledge intact.

Imagine our surprise, when within 60 seconds of dropping the anchor, our boat made a graceful yet determined 180 degree turn, and we found our own bow facing down river just like that "silly sailboat" only a few weeks before.  The bewilderment I felt was mirrored on Dennis' face.  How could this be happening?  I thought we knew this river!  But worse of all, did we really make all of those judgmental comments about the sailboat who was in this exact same predicament?  I was embarrassed and ashamed to admit that I had acted so superior.

And then I was reminded once again how life is our constant and patient teacher.  

Actually the whole experience became quite a lesson.  For how can we even begin to understand another person and the choices they make unless we have "walked a mile in their moccasins"?  And even if we have walked that mile, we still have no right to criticize because life presents its lessons in a manner that speaks to us individually.  This one experience of anchoring could bring assorted lessons to various people.  Did the owners of the sailboat learn the same lesson I did from this experience?  It would be fun to know, but it's not my job to know.  It takes all the energy I can muster to keep up with my own studies; thank goodness it's not required that I judge everyone else and track where they are in the School of Life.

So, to all those boaters who may have ridiculed us for our unique anchoring style in Georgiana Slough ... you'll learn your lesson when the time is right for you.

Carpe MOMENTO!
Diana