You Must Row A Little Boat Before Steering A Ship

You Must Row A Little Boat Before Steering A Ship

By: Diana Scharffenberger

Reflecting back on his life lived on the open water; Richard Bode shares his lesson-packed story full of youthful adventures in his book First You Have To Row A Little Boat. Bode is constantly struggling to find the meaning of life and using sailing to tell his tale.

Bode uses several metaphors to help readers relate to his story. Sailing represents life’s journey, wind represents unexpected troubles that are thrown our way and Bode represents us.

Photo Credit:

http://hypervision2.blogspot.com/2011/02/sailing-progress.html

Although I enjoyed how Bode related life through metaphors and the sea, his book came off slightly negative and discouraging.

He talks about how he was taught to sail as a child and how he carried those lessons throughout his entire life. They showed him that life doesn’t always go as planned and doesn’t always go the way you want it to.  These vital lessons were thought provoking and deep. Unfortunately, Bode later reveals that he fails to teach his kids how to sail. He fails to share what was so impacting and life changing to him, with his kids. This, to me, was disappointing.

There are unexpected and unwanted encounters you must face. You must endure the choppy water before you can reach smooth sailing. You must row a little boat before you can steer a ship.

Photo Credit: http://oldbookends.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-you-have-to-row-little-boat.html