We’re all in the Same Boat

Last week, I had the opportunity to tell people a little about my life story. It was a tough conversation since I don’t like to talk about myself. I want people to see me as an ordinary person, but it is a hard sell when I see other people as extraordinary.

Sharing your life’s journey with others is powerful. In the course of doing that, people will learn some things about you which may be more amazing than you believe. People will learn that you have had to solve problems. They will learn about who you loved and who loved you. They will learn about your successes and your disappointments.

In the end they may be in awe of what you had to overcome. They may be stunned into silence by the trauma you could not avoid. They may be shocked by some of your misbehavior. They may be surprised about the fun you had, your favorite food, or how old you were when you first realized you were different from someone else and what that difference was.

Life has a way of giving everyone more or less of something. Here are some of mine.

I once crashed a local kindergarten. The Catholic School I was set to attend didn’t have one and I wanted to go.

My grandmother, who did not speak English, once got lost in an airport. I was 12 at the time and found her by making phone calls.

When I was 12 and 17, my family lost everything to fire.

I worked my way through college and borrowed and paid off loans for over eight years.

I was stunned by a breast cancer diagnosis and have been cancer free over ten years.

I didn’t like school at first, but once I figure it out I fell in love with learning. I went on to get not one, but two master’s degrees.

I love to bake, sew, and sing.

You know what, we are all in the same boat. If we listen and learn we will find the joys, the sorrows, the pain in our lives. Knowing that, let’s be kind to each other. We need a boat to stay afloat and weather many storms.

Here are some lyrics by Zac Brown about our experience in that boat:

We’re all in the same boat
Fishing in the same hole
Wondering where the same time goes
We’re all in the same boat

We could all believe what we believe
And peacefully agree to disagree
But you can’t judge a man
Until you walk a country mile in his shoes

We’re all in the same boat
Fishing in the same hole
Wondering where the same time goes
And money too
Try’na fix the same broke hearts
Wishing on the same stars
We’re all hoping hope floats
And we’re all in the same boat

We all been kicked and knocked around
But you ain’t gonna keep a good man down
You can run like hell from your mistakes
But you can’t hide from your truth

We’re all in the same boat
Fishing in the same hole
Wondering where the same time goes
And money too
Try’na fix the same broke hearts
Wishing on the same stars
We’re all hoping hope floats
And we’re all in the same boat

Share them peaches, if you’re holding
Take those shots and keep reloading
If you can’t be nice
Don’t say nothing at all
So help somebody who might be struggling
Spread a little love, gotta give back something
If the ship keeps rocking
We’ll all go overboard

We’re all in the same boat
Fishing in the same hole
Wondering where the same time goes
And money too
Tryna fix the same broke hearts
Wishing on the same stars
We’re all hoping hope floats
And we’re all in the same boat
Yeah, we’re all hoping hope floats
We’re all in the same boat