Sussex People

Does fear bring your soul to life?

So when I am told that this is the “designated year of awareness of the Mole and all relayed tunnelling Mammalia” by the United Nations or some such body, I sigh and pay no attention on principle.

And on Sunday, someone said, "It’s Sea Sunday, so we are going to talk to a chaplain in the United Emirates", the non conformist inside me grumbled a little, but was placated by discovering that he wanted to talk about pirates and their victims.  That sounded rather interesting.

"We are much more vulnerable than we pretend, both physically, emotionally and psychologically. "

Gavin Ashenden

And it was. As preparation for talking to him I read a letter out of a journal from someone who represented the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea (of which – given our ecumenical divisions I had never even heard.) I was moved by the way in which these chaplains, and the ones from the Mission to Seamen, gave such practical love and care to the very poor and very vulnerable men who are the work force on merchant shipping.

But he has something to say that applied much more widely. He said he thought that people who went to sea were much more spiritually aware that people who didn’t.

Now that was an interesting claim to make, and I asked him to defend it. He said that when you were at sea you were surrounded by an awesome beauty; the sunrise and the sunset were perpetually majestic; the power of the waves and the sea itself was indescribably awesome; the distances at sea were just huge compared to our two metre frame; it all made for awe and wonder; and people were afraid.

Afraid? Yes – because, she can so easily turn on you and drown you – or try to. Fear is usually very destructive, but some kinds of fear, especially when they re-awaken awe in us, bring our soul back to life.

We are much more vulnerable than we pretend, both physically, emotionally and psychologically. And if this vulnerability provokes us into reaching out to re-establish links with the loving energy that is behind the universe, we may be saner for it. We’ll certainly be more alert and alive. And perhaps we’ll start to learn to pray.