Your Lifesaver Word

 

Your Lifesaver Word

If you were lost in the middle of the sea and all your words were carried away from you, which word would you hold onto as your lifesaver? That is, the sea has somehow sucked all your power to recall language and you have only one word left to bring you to safety?

The first word that surfaces in my mind is patience. It doesn't seem like it would help, seeing as how in such a drastic circumstance one should spring into action. I envision myself inside this tube and all I see is water. I could swim, but where? I imagine that I have splashed about, grabbing onto as many concepts as I can. However, nothing brings me closer to land, although I know sooner or later an answer might arrive on a wave.

You could say: "You should have chosen hope, then." Well, it's not the first word that came to mind. In any case, I believe patience would get me further. Hope might lead me to swim my hardest in the direction of a boat that never stops.

In my life, the patience to ride things out has been helpful, particularly when dealing with other people. Many times I've seen if I don't get worked up and speak calmly in an agitated situation, the other person calms down, too. Once I was on an island in Croatia waiting to board a boat to go back to the mainland. My traveling companions suddenly started panicking because they realized they had left their passports at the camping ground. My two friends starting accusing me and everyone/anyone else of not reminding them to get their passports. I just listened as they let off steam without saying anything. Eventually, we came up with a plan: we called two other friends who hadn't left the camping ground yet and were taking their car with them on the ferry. We tested our running skills and decided that Sally was the fastest. While Tina and I waited with the bags, Sally ran to our friends' car as soon as they arrived and ran back to the boat with ten minutes to spare before it departed. Afterward, we all laughed about it, and my friends asked me how I remained so calm.

The answer is that I knew there was a solution, even if it meant losing our ferry tickets and having to buy new ones. We just had to see which one worked.

When I couldn't see a solution to a problem in the past, one always seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Like, once I was stranded on the side of the road after having taken the wrong bus with no idea of where I was. While I was pondering on what to do, a person I knew pulled up and offered me a ride.

I don't know if patience is a lifesaver, but it's my word at the moment. 

Which word would you choose?

Photo: FreeImages

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi