Thar She Blows

Author/Writer Herman Meville wrote, ~...Aye, Aye! and I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up. And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that white whale on both sides of land, and over all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood and rolls fin out...~ Let me ask you this question, how many of you are currently in pursuit of and striving for your own white whale? For it's in your pursuit there's quite possibly a strong mix of focused hard work and not to mention stubborn determination to have those aforementioned goals/dreams achieved in which they can turn into a complete obsession. Family, career, something to cross off their bucket list, etc. are the metaphorical representations of the quintessential white whale that's possibly within reach and a promise was made to yourself in not letting it slip through your fingers. Essentially, it's that particular obsession that will either end up killing you or find yourself absolutely conquering it.

As I said before, each one of us have our own dreams/goals we're individually striving for to where it can be considered a personal and/or professional white whale. Thinking about it further one can seemingly develop a Captain Ahab like mentality when chasing/going after what can be viewed by others as so tremendously enormous in size and scope, as well as how incredibly ambitious it can seem to the point where it borderlines maybe even far surpasses absolute madness. Hopefully, there is no loss of limbs suffered and unfortunately replaced while your own pursuit is happening. In any case, when it comes to the madness of accomplishing set goals/dreams it can certainly give any person the motivation to push himself/herself far beyond what they're capable of in order to achieve it no matter the obstacles placed in front of him/her. What it primarily comes down to is being in control of your own mindset instead of having it control over you unlike Ahab.

If you think about it, Captain Ahab's maddening obsession for Moby Dick wouldn't have happened without his crew of the Pequod to assist him in his vengeful pursuit of the white whale. A crew that consisted of a Nantucket Quaker, a pure blooded Indian, Ishmael, chief mate Starbuck, second mate Stubbs, and third mate Flash along with 4 harpooners Fedallah, Queequeg, Tashtego and Daggoo. Among the crew, it would be Chief Mate Starbuck who would make a conscious and genuine attempt to persuade Ahab who has spent at least 40 years hunting for whales to return to Nantucket to see their families together, which unfortunately fails. In other words, he became the calm voice or reason within the all out madness that is happening. Oftentimes, there comes a point in our maddening obsession to achieve and make possible the impossible you're glad to have your own version of Starbuck representing family, best buds and/or gal pals who are the much needed voice(s) of reason we need to hear for our own sake at times even if we don't want to hear it.

For the question can be asked, how long have you been in pursuit of what is considered to be your white whale? Of course, Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick took a matter of 3 days and what it also took was his very own life as well on that fateful 3rd day. How? He was caught/tangled in the rope and dragged into the sea by the very thing he pursued after hitting the white whale with a fashioned special harpoon made from a bag containing racehorse shoenail stubs. Ultimately, it's a sad state of affairs when the goals/dreams you find yourself metaphorically harpooning for are suddenly too much to handle and the next thing you know you're tangled up, in a manner of speaking, causing you to realize you've gotten yourself in way over your head. I think it's safe to say it's an overwhelming situation indeed and sometimes it's too late to free yourself as you end up pulled then inevitably dragged down into the sea of failure. Without a doubt, don't allow yourself to be caught/tangled in the rope of focused obsession that it pulls/drags you down leading it to be one of the main root causes of your untimely downfall.

In retrospect, the only surviving crew member after the Pequod was completely destroyed by Moby Dick was Ishmael if you read the book. In any case, there comes a point while in pursuit of your personal and/or professional white whale where there may possibly be a number of casualties. Yet, at the same time you hope you don't lose the crew that has supported or continues to support you through the highs and lows of navigating through the treacherous, rough seas that is the journey of your life. Granted, it's a terrifying thought but don't let that fear of "what if" stop you from going after what you've set out and/or wanted in heart to do for quite some time. Instead, let it be an incentive. Personally speaking, my white whale has and continues to be a profession in the area of computer art/animation or work with kids at Disney World in Orlando or DisneyLand in California. In the end, I say to each one of you happy hunting pursuing your own individual white whale and when you finally see it go for it in hopes you have a smile on your face as you think to yourself or say out loud the following 3 words: thar she blows!