Be Like the Buoy
A Meditation
For the only safe harbor in this life’s tossing, troubled sea is to refuse to be bothered about what the future will bring and to stand ready and confident, squaring the breast to take without skulking or flinching whatever fortune hurls at us. —Seneca
What if all our anger and fear is unwarranted? What if world events are unfolding in perfect order to deliver us to a distant joy we can’t conceive of at this time? —Chuck Palahniuk
Above: Alone, but not lonely.
Be like the buoy.
Calm and still, resolute and moored.
It does not fight; it just bobs and weaves.
Rolling with the waves, tethered though the world spins round.
Always afloat, yet in touch with the depths.
It’s often overlooked because of age and rust,
Though with years come wisdom and wear without tear is just experience.
It does its job and does it well,
No matter rain or shine, calm or whitecaps, wind or stillness.
Its bright lights twinkle, its mossy bell tolls, its bare structure stands tall—
There both where and when expected, it is participant not bystander.
Neither flashy nor remarkable, it’s seldom noticed, but entirely necessary.
Ever-present, ever-ready, ever-anchored.
If you listen, it seems to whisper:
Don’t be somewhere else. Be here.
Be here and be here well.
Still in the surf,
Still in the surf.
Per my about page, White Noise is a work of experimentation. I view it as a sort of thinking aloud, a stress testing of my nascent ideas. Through it, I hope to sharpen my opinions against the whetstone of other people’s feedback, commentary, and input.
If you want to discuss any of the ideas or musings mentioned above or have any books, papers, or links that you think would be interesting to share on a future edition of White Noise, please reach out to me by replying to this email or following me on Twitter X.
With sincere gratitude,
Tom