Grayson by Lynne Cox

Is it really a book about a baby whale? Sure, if you judge it by its cover. Lynne has shared with us a personal memory of swimming with a baby whale separated from its mother.  She describes all of the vibrant sea life and the swimming experience in a way that almost transports you there (why yes, how could I forget how annoying sand in my suit is…). The total time spanned in the book is just less than a few hours of one morning, and probably takes less to read, but Lynne grows and experiences years of lessons. A notable characteristic of this book that at times felt rather cloying, especially if you took it in context, are the plentiful life lessons presented right in the text as part of her seventeen year old stream of consciousness. However, just take a pause and move below the surface (as Lynne often does in this tale) and reflect for just a bit longer.  I want to share with you some of thought capsules to be consumed.

• Capsule # 1:  Be patient. Wait. Nothing is all good or all bad. As a problem develops, so does the solution. [p. 133]
• Capsule # 2:  Waiting is as important as the doing . . . it’s painting the subject and the space in between; is the reading and the thinking about what you’ve read; it’s the written words, what is said and what is left unsaid; it’s the space between thoughts on the pages, that makes the story and it’s the space between the notes, the intervals between fast and slow, that makes the music. . . [p.103]
• Capsule # 3: Use your heart. it is love that surpasses all boarders and barriers. It is a constant and endless sea. Speak … with your heart and … will hear you. [p.82]
• Capsule # 4: It’s always difficult to swim against the tide . . . because the ideas that could result might cause something to change. . .  if I didn’t move outside  my comfort level, how would I ever experience anything new, how would I ever learn or see or explore. [p 80]
• Capsule # 5: Sometimes … the important things take time, sometimes they don’t happen all at once, sometimes answers come out of time and struggle and learning. [p.73]
• Capsule # 6: … it’s the process of doing that makes things clear. If we don’t start, we never know what could have been. Sometimes the answers we find while searching are better or more creative than anything we could have imagined before. [p.56]
• Capsule # 7: a thought is energy and as it is transmitted it is multiplied. Thoughts can can be either positive, negative or neutral ….. affecting ht way other people think. If I thought negatively, I would put out negative energy. But if I thought positively, I would put out positive energy, expanding the possibilities of what could happen. It is very much like actors improvising. If they work together…. respond to one another in a positive way they keep their skit … moving forward….. as soon as someone puts forth soothing negative, the improvisation shuts down. [pp 47-48]

Is this really a book a about a whale? That is for you to decide. Be patient, it will be the space between the words on the page. Take from here what you will but use your heart, find the tide to challenge and by doing find clarity, maybe where you least expect it.