The Practice of Optimism

Welcome.

Throughout our life, most of us will encounter a spectrum of emotions ranging from elation to despair. Some events will be shaped by our actions and will occur as the result of efforts; others will only be accompanied by us – as we will have no control over them. How we respond to these emotions and events will shape our human experience. In a way, we are not dissimilar from boats charting our course. This website – The Vessel – hopes to serve as a reminder to us of how the practice of optimism can help us access the strength which lies in all of us and the power to withstand wind gusts and strong currents.

Sea Fever by John Masefield - Poems | Academy of American Poets

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking,

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

From Poems (The Macmillan Company, 1917) by John Masefield. This poem is in the public domain.